WFMW: Dance Shoes and Video Games

Dance is the only form of exercise I've ever enjoyed. After Steven received a Wii for Christmas, I bought Dance Dance Revolution for my own use. It's a great program, as it has a workout mode, different levels of difficulty, and several other options. While it really can't be considered dancing (it's more stomping and shaking the hands than anything else), it's still a fun game.

The mat that comes with the game says that it should be played barefoot. I found 2 problems with that. It was winter, and my feet were cold. Also, bare feet and a plastic-y, vinyl-ish mat don't mix. Instead of stomp, stomp, stomp, it was stomp, stiiiiick, stomp too late, stiiiiick, stomp even later, stiiiiick... So not working.

Because I used to dance, I found a super simple solution (other than just wearing socks, which honestly works just fine, even if the mat says that a huge no-no). I pulled my old ballet shoes out of the closet and started wearing those when I play. The leather soles mean feet don't stick to the mat and there's ease of movement because they are truly the next best thing to being barefoot.



Storage is simple. We keep the mat in a corner that is blocked by the TV and a basket full of quilts. I just shove my dance shoes back there with it. It's blocked from view, but always easily accessible.



When winter rolls back around, and I'm wearing thick socks around the house, I'll probably switch from ballet shoes to my leather-soled, lightweight jazz shoes. My old dance shoes are being used again, and I'm getting some much-needed exercise. That works for me!

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