Do you love the shoes you dance in? Do you wish they were more accommodating to different surfaces? More supportive and flexible? Then I have something you are going to be interested in!
In the world of dance shoes and specifically dance sneakers, there is a new kid on the block–Fuego dance shoes. I started noticing Fuegos a little after the shutdown. It was post-pandemic when we got back to dancing that I found out about the new Fuego Dance Sneaker! The little circles on the ball and heal areas of the bottom of the shoe quickly caught my attention and I had to know what in the heck was going on with this shoe!
As a parent who was raising 4 kids in the 90s, I was very familiar with Heelies! Ingenious shoes that instantly go from sneakers to skates! I thought, wow, it’s Heelies again! But sideways for dancers. I thought the little circles on the soles were rotating discs that made it easy for a dancer to spin. But, wait that doesn’t seem like something you actually would want as a dancer! How could you control your spinning?!
Well, I quickly found out, no, that is not what’s going on with the Fuego Dance Sneaker!
Fuego Dance Sneakers are dance shoes with an innovative design that adds a circular texture to the grip pattern of the bottom of the shoe–at both the ball and heel of the shoe. The circle patterns facilitate a dancer’s rotation and spinning as they dance as opposed to creating friction and resistance that a typical sneaker grip pattern would do.
But, wait there’s more! That’s the obvious and most inventive part of the shoe, but the story about the Fuego brand and shoe design unveils a passion to create a dance shoe that solves several problems for dancers looking for the perfect dance shoe!
Table of Contents
The Fuego Story
The Technology – How Does the Fuego Dance Shoe Work?
The Fuego Dance Shoe–A Line Dancing Game Changer?
My Fuego Dance Shoe Experience–My Verdict Is In!
Country Dancing Meets Fuego Dance Shoes
Fuego Shoe Design Options
SHOP FUEGO SHOES! (See Discount Code)
The Fuego Story
The Fuego Shoe is a fairly new brand developed only in 2018. Kevin Weschler is the CEO and founder of Fuego. His story springs from the perfect mixture of need, opportunity, and passion.
It all started for Kevin when he went to a Salsa class one day and was instantly hooked on dancing. But as he kept at it, when it came to dance shoes, he was disappointed in what was available on the market. Nothing really worked great for him. The rubber grip patterns of his sneakers were resisting and fighting against all the pivoting and swiveling of dancing! Kevin’s knees were paying the price!
He wanted a brand of dance sneakers that were fashionable, comfortable, and that he actually wanted to wear! But, of course, it had to somehow facilitate the spinning and grooving of his dancing, in a painless way.
As a new graduate of business and entrepreneurship, it was his light bulb moment to start a business and just make this nonexistent shoe himself! Thus, Fuego was born!
But then it was during the pandemic that came a huge surge of interest and success for Fuego. You see, Fuego is an all-in-one dance sneaker engineered for dancing on any surface. And during the pandemic, to keep dancing, we had to dance anywhere and everywhere. Fuego dance shoes were there to fill that gap.
The rest, as they say, is history! The Fuego dance shoe brand has been exploding ever since and has now extended its reach to 120 countries worldwide! Fuego now partners with world-class dancers to collaborate on new shoe designs for its current collections.
The Technology – How Does the Fuego Dance Shoe Work?
But what is so special about Fuego shoes? Kevin Weschler has attacked the dance shoe problem from many angles! Let’s break it down.
The four main things about the Fuego shoe boil down to:
Dual Pivot Points
Engineering for Dance
Premium Comfort & Maximum Support
Lightweight Construction
Dual Pivot Points
Yes, the dual pivot points are really the obvious genius of Fuego dance shoes. The dual pivot points design creates a shoe that is made for spinning. The circle isn’t moving (like I first thought!), but made out of contrasting material and density and also raised slightly from the rest of the shoe sole surface. The result is a dance shoe that frees you to spin without punishing your knee joints with all that torque.
Engineering for Dance
Fuego’s engineering creates the pivot points with a special compound that provides a good balance of slip and grip! Yes, while the slip is great and allows you to slide and spin, you don’t want to slip and fall. This is actually an issue sometimes for country dancers in boots. Boots on a slippery hardwood floor can be an issue. Fuego shoes are engineered to strike a good balance between slip and grip, and in the process give you the ability to dance on any surface–hardwood, concrete, carpet, etc.!
Premium Comfort & Maximum Support
Fuego Shoes also really address cushioning which is super important for dancers. The insoles have extra cushioning that gives you good shock absorption while still being able to feel the floor! The low-top & high-top insoles provide cushioning along the entire shoe, but the split-sole styles just put the cushioning in the ball and heel of the shoe, still providing comfort without interfering with the flexibility of the split-sole option. But, besides the cushioning, the shoe is built with Neoprene that hugs the arch for great support! Comfort and support in a dance shoe are here!
Lightweight Construction
Lastly, Fuego shoes have been created with an ultra-lightweight design that makes them comparable to running shoes. But how light is a running shoe? A podiatrist named Nelya Lobkova, DPM, was asked and he said that to really qualify as a “lightweight” shoe, it needs to be less than 8 ounces! So, running shoes are typically between 6.5 and 13. He said a “heavy” shoe usually would be one more than 10.5. So, you can see it’s a high bar to qualify!
Fuego shoes, the Low-Top, High-Top, and Split-Sole styles are 8.4, 9.1, and 6.1, respectively! So, while maybe not all qualify for “lightweight” according to Dr. Lobkova, you can see Fuego shoes are light! You should notice the feather-light feel as you dance in Fuegos–a dance shoe that won’t drag you down.
The Fuego Dance Shoe–A Line Dancing Game Changer?
If you are someone who has recently discovered line dancing, one question you might have is: What kinds of shoes should I get? The answer is a shoe (or boot) that has a smooth leather or suede sole. This is the reason cowboy boots with leather soles work so great.
The smooth wood floor with leather soles is the perfect combination, allowing you to slide and spin unhindered. If you get out on the wood floor with sneakers, that rubber grip is going to want to do what it does–stop you! If you try to slide and spin the first place you’ll suffer is your knees! The knee joints are the recipient of all that pressure and torque.
But here’s the crazy thing: since I’ve been line dancing I’ve noticed more and more, especially with young people, line dancing in streetwear sneakers! My theory is that their young knee joints are not yet really feeling the wear and tear that’s happening! They love their Vans and line dancing, but in the end, it’s not a great combination.
Street shoes are actually designed to not allow you to turn your body…they’re designed for you not to slip around, and they’re meant to actually do the opposite, which is to grip the ground, which is not what you want in dance.
Kevin Weschler
The title of this post is Are Fuego Dance Shoes Good for Line Dancing? I hope by now you would guess the answer to be YES! Yes, Fuegos are sneakers, but they are unique and unlike any other.
Fuegos are sneakers for dancing, and as such for the line dance world are now a new alternative for shoe wear. You could say, they are the new kid on the block!
While line dancing has many unique things about it, at the end of the day, it’s still dancing! There are tons of cross-over steps and moves in line dancing to other genres of dancing; genres of dancing that Fuegos are working great for!
For line dancing you just need shoes that allow you to slide and spin! That’s what you need! Fuego is the new and latest alternative for dancing shoes.
While many line dancers love to wear cowboy or cowgirl boots, I see more and more people wearing sneakers and split-sole dance shoes. Fuego dance shoes provide all those people with the style of shoe they actually want to wear, but with the thoughtful design of the shoe being for dancing, including line dancing–so yes, Fuego shoes are a game changer for line dancing!
My Fuego Dance Shoe Experience–My Verdict Is In!
When I finally got a pair ordered to try out for myself it took a little while for them to get to me! It seems there is a real demand right now and the shoes are on back order. So if you order some, be prepared to wait a little. But mine finally came! I was very excited to get a pair of the BDash Low Tops! To me, the design of that shoe is in keeping with the best-looking sneakers or tennis shoes that I’ve ever owned! I love the colors–the teal accent is awesome!
My first weekend dancing in Fuegos had arrived!
It felt a little strange, but I did it! I wore sneakers to go dancing at my local country bar. And, yes one person did give me a hard time over it! I was so excited and curious about what they would be like. I still had my doubts that the smooth vegan surface of the shoe would work as I needed it to. But to my surprise, it worked great! It was a Saturday night and as the line dances started getting called I was sliding and pivoting like I hoped I would! Dizzy & Wave on Wave line dance pivots etc. were feeling normal as if I was wearing my boots!
And also, while I did get some flack, I got far more compliments! This was working for me! So, now two weekends in, I am totally sold and hooked on Fuegos for the dance floor! It didn’t matter if it was a line dance or some Two Stepping, Fuegos were working great. Two Step and Cha Cha shuffling were as normal feeling as if I had my boots on!
But, here’s the crazy thing about it: they were better than boots! I realized that with Fuegos I had the perfect dance shoes for the dance floor. I started to really enjoy the premium comfort and support of the shoes, as well as the lightweight aspect of the shoe. When a line dance happened that I typically tried to get a jump or hop into I could definitely feel the lighter weight of the shoes helping me out and giving me a lift! My first night ended with dancing American Kids and I felt like I kid again!–so fun!
Multi-Surfaces?
On my second weekend dancing in Fuegos I attended the outdoor line dancing at the beach that is a lot of fun. I was very excited to have the Fuegos for this dance venue. It just seemed like the place where I’d really utilize them and swap out the boots for them. But, unlike my experience with Fuegos on a smooth hardwood dance floor, for me, the Fuegos on cement and concrete were really not that different than any other sneakers. As soon as I started dancing, they gripped the texture of the cement tightly and I knew instantly there would be no sliding or spinning this day!
I still enjoyed dancing on cement in Fuegos, but had to adjust my expectations and just pick up my feet and jump around more. Their comfort and lightweight benefits were still there, just no sliding. For outdoor dancing on cement and concrete, the hard leather outsole of a boot is still the best bet! Also where we were dancing there were varying degrees of texture on the concrete, some had little pieces of gravel, and other places were smoother. But it didn’t really matter, the Fuegos liked gripping it everywhere.
My takeaway so far with my Fuegos is that they are super comfortable dance shoes, but best enjoyed on a hardwood dance floor, whether in a dance hall or dance studio. I plan on continuing to experiment with them on different surfaces to see if they work better in other scenarios! I could see that young super athletic dancers might have better results since they are light on their feet. –Like some of the promo videos show!
Country Dancing, Please Meet Fuego Dance Shoes!
Line dancing and Fuego dance shoes. This seems like a relationship that needs to happen! Country Dancing, please check out Fuego Dance Shoes! And Fuego Dance Shoes, please give Country Dancing a look!
I think these two belong together, but when I look around I don’t see many line dancers in Fuegos. And when I look at the Fuego marketing I don’t see much inclusion of the country dance scene!
Of course, country dancing will never be without lots of cowboy boots involved. We love our country western theme in a good country bar. What would a country bar dance floor be without all of the boot stompin’? Live country music and country music festivals and guys and gals in boots are here to stay.
Maybe there’s a fashion in the future of Fuego dance shoe technology with the Cowboy Boot. That might be the ultimate country dancing equipment! In the meantime, don’t throw out your Cowboy Boots, but get some Fuego dance shoes for your dance shoe collection to mix it up from time to time.
So, far you may not see a lot of connection between Fuego dance shoes and line dancing, but how is it not only a matter of time?
Fuego Shoe Design Options
Fuego shoes come in 3 basic designs: low-top, high-top, and the new split-shoe design.
The Low-top Fuego Sneaker
The sneaker that started it all…
The Low-Top is the Fuego classic, tried and true, timeless style. This one comes in black and white and also in collaborated design options.
The High-top Fuego Sneaker
Next came Fuego High-tops!
The High-Tops add extra ankle support and some extra swag! These are available in four colors: classic white, bold black, fire red, and silver!
The Split-sole Fuego Sneaker
Introducing something new!
Need the flexibility of the Split-Sole dance shoe? Fuego has now added its signature sole technology & pivot points to a split-sole design in 5 colors!
SHOP FUEGO SHOES! (See Discount Code)
For your convenience here’s the entire collection–15 styles to choose from! Browse the low-tops, high-tops, and split-shoe styles and just click on what one you like! These links will take you directly to each shoe page applying my 10% discount automatically. If you get some Fuego dance shoes for line dancing I would love feedback! And even photos of line dancers in Fuegos!
Low-Top Fuego Dance Shoes
High-Top Fuego Dance Shoes
Split-Shoe Fuego Dance Sneakers
Once the Fuego shoe brand was out into the world and beginning to catch on, it wasn’t long before they heard the question: “Can you make a sneaker that’s more flexible?”
Of course, the answer was: “Yes, yes we can!”
Fuego subsequently introduced their split-sole dance sneaker! But, of course with the signature sole technology & pivot points that Fuego was quickly becoming famous for. The split-sole dance sneakers are designed to easily flex. But you’ll also notice this category has the most colors! Classical & pro dancers looking for flexible dance shoes have 6 colors to choose from! Shop them below:
More Recommended Footwear and More on the Site!
- Best Cowgirl Boots for Country Dancing
- Best Cowboy Boots for Country Dancing
- The 3 Best Kinds of Shoes for Line Dancing with Pictures!
- What to Wear Line Dancing: A Practical Guide
- Best Jeans for Country Dancing
- Best Western Shirts for Country Dancing
- Best Cowboy Hat Styles for Country Dancing
Sources
fuegodance.com/
Exclusive: Fuego Shoes Founder Turned His Passion for Salsa Into Revolutionary Dance Sneakersite
wp.dormroomfund.com/lighting-up-the-dance-floor-why-we-funded-fuego/