How to tape your heavy shoes

How to Tape your Heavy shoes!

Many of you will have heard suggestions as to how to stop your Heavy shoes slipping on the stage. Usually people will refer to Duct tape. But what is it and how do you apply it? Read on.......

Duct tape is used for sealing the joints in Plastic guttering or Ducts, hence the name. It is a strong thick heavy duty Cloth tape with strong adhesive, and when applied to the taps and heels of heavy shoes provides an elemrnt of grip. We prefer to use Carpet binding tape. It is similar, but tears more easily and can be bought in black rather than the usual silvery colour of Duct tape. It is also cheaper!

Refer to the picture below to see where the tape is applied, as defined in these instructions.

Clean the toe tap and heel.

First cut a narrow strip of tape and smooth it around the front of the toe tap, overlapping the sole of the toe tap. Next stick tape across the full width overlapping the first strip to stop the edge lifting, and wrap around the edges.

Cut a narrow strip and stick it up the back edge of the heel, and onto the sole of the heel. Stick another full width piece across the heel. Do not wrap too high up the inner sides as this will affect the clicks!

When the tape wears down and requires replacing, make sure you remove all trace of the previous tape before the next application.