New Tap Shoes

I teach dance most evenings a week at a local dance studio, and I'm currently in my second year of teaching at the studio.  I love every part of it- the kids, the owner, the dancing, and the supportive community!  
I specialize in tap dance, and after 8 years of past shows, classes, choreographing, use and abuse, my tap shoes finally did something I never thought happened- I wore through not only the leather toes on my shoes, but I wore through the metal tap piece on the bottom of my shoe (New shoes on left, old shoes with flaking metal tap on the right)!

This year especially I have realized how much abuse they receive, between three tap lines and four solo students!
It was then that I knew I should look into getting new shoes, before my shoes spontaneously combusted in the middle of class and flying off.  I went back to the place I originally got my shoes 8 years ago- Miller and Ben's Tap Shoe Emporium.  I would never go anywhere else, and I was incredibly excited when I got my new tap shoes last night!

The only bad thing about new dance shoes is breaking them in.  After dancing in well-worn and extremely loved shoes, these felt stiff and uncompromising, giving me blisters after only an hour of dancing in them.  I'm so used to wearing taps that are completely worn down that the new taps felt almost rounded, and without the smooth bottoms I was slipping all over the floor last night while teaching.

I'll still keep my old ones around, but it's so cool to get new tap shoes!  I'm hoping that they'll last me another 8 years of happiness. :)