From the mailbag...

In the comments section below, Kelly asked the question, "Canvas or leather? Which do you prefer?"

Personally, I love canvas slippers because they're A) washable and B) cheaper. They work well on both marley and wood floors and for the price of a single pair of leather shoes, I can own 2 pairs of canvas. I like Sansha Pro 1C. Capezio Juliet II are also nice but they tend to grow holes too fast. I usually alternate between the pairs, so I always have a clean pair. If you go barefoot in your slippers, instead of wearing tights over your feet, canvas is great because when they get smelly (the shoes, not your feet!), you just throw them in the wash and hang to dry.

Now, those are the pro's. There are some cons to canvas:
--they wear out faster, often getting holes or tears in the toes within a couple months of daily wear (but you can sew them up to get a little extra life out of them)
--the effect of rosin on the shoes. Leather takes the build-up of rosin well but rosin on canvas gets hard and clumpy (but you can scrape it off and wash them so that's some compensation)
--canvas doesn't fit as closely to the foot as leather. You can get a nice tight fit from leather while canvas tends to stretch out (but canvas does get snug again when you wash it)

In the end, it's a matter of what you prefer, what fits you best, and what surface you dance on most often. Thanks for asking, Kelly!

And now, to prove I do indeed teach, here are some photos of a recent Level 4 class that the parent of one of my students took. Thanks to Claire Vorhis! That's her daughter, Sarah Jo, the lovely redhead I'm instructing on the ecarte line: