The Jason Samuels Smith Tap Shoe
A Legacy of Excellence
For over 16 years, the Jason Samuels Smith Tap Shoe has set the standard for tap dance footwear. After countless hours of research, testing, and refinement, these shoes have become a symbol of quality, performance, and innovation.
Crafted for the serious dancer, the Jason Samuels Smith Tap Shoe combines comfort, style, and unmatched sound quality. With every tap, the shoes produce a tone as crisp and resonant as a finely tuned instrument, helping dancers take their craft to the next level.
Why the Jason Samuels Smith Tap Shoe?
🎶 Iconic Sound – Designed to deliver rich, vibrant tones, these shoes help you make your mark with every step.
👟 Comfort and Performance – A perfect fit that supports your every move, ensuring comfort during hours of practice or performance.
🌟 Built to Last – Crafted from high-quality materials that stand up to the demands of professional tap dancers.
💥 A Legacy of Excellence – Trusted by dancers worldwide, this shoe has become the gold standard in the tap dance community.
For over 16 years, the Jason Samuels Smith Tap Shoe has been the choice of professional dancers, and now, it’s your turn to experience the difference. Step into the legacy and elevate your tap game with the shoes that have stood the test of time.
Join the #JSAMS community of dancers who trust the performance and legacy of these shoes. Ready to elevate your tap game? Discover the precision and craftsmanship that define #JSSTapShoes and experience a shoe made for champions.
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here are answers to some questions
As a Tap Dancer, how important is it to have good tap shoes?
The tap shoe is your instrument and it’s an extension of your foot, so it’s very important that it’s made well and has a decent sound that you prefer. It needs to be comfortable enough to wear for a long period of time and stylish enough to be presentable on stage. Tap dancers deserve a good shoe to accompany the art form. Tap dancing is too amazing not to have an instrument that can deliver.
How involved were you with the design of the tap shoes?
I was completely involved. In the beginning Bloch sent me a model of their top professional tap shoe that looked more like a steel-toe boot than a dress shoe. I gave them a shoe that I liked in a classic Hollywood 30’s or 40’s style and once they had the core design we kept altering it.
I had seen a clip of Coles (Honey Coles) and Atkins (Cholly Atkins) tap dancing and they’re wearing shoes that have a straight cut across the toe and the toe is in a different colour to the back of the shoe. I always liked how this looked and so we have done two versions of the stitching for our shoe. One has the hard cut that goes across the toe – that’s the ladies version. The other one cuts across and has a sharper cut that goes to the back. So there is slightly different stitching on the shoes, which gives more options in terms of customisation.
So you have a female version and a male version of the shoe?
Right now we have a basic design for a male and a female shoe, where the sole, the leather and interior are all the same. The female shoe has slightly different stitching but it’s not necessarily gender restrictive. I know guys that have bought the female shoe because it’s a narrower cut of the male shoe. My foot is naturally wide and Bloch designed the shoe based on my foot, so the male shoe that comes out of the box is wide.
What was the most important thing for you working on this project?
The main thing was to create a professional high quality tap shoe as a complete package which to me means a shoe that is a total entity and lasts the distance. We worked on the durability of the shoe and the style, and it was also important that the shoes have their own distinctive sound.
The shoe also needs to be comfortable. If you’re teaching three or four classes a day, your feet are just throbbing by the end of the day. Bloch really attacked this, even before I approached it. Their shoes are some of the most comfortable dance shoes in the world, so I was really happy about that.
Sound is an important aspect of tap. What process did you undergo to ensure the shoes produced an exceptional quality sound?
At the beginning of the whole process Bloch did a focus group. They called in a bunch of tap dancers: Derrick Grant, Michelle Dorrance, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Chloe Arnold, Dianne Walker, and myself. They had taps from the past and the present and we tested the sound independent of the shoe, and also on the shoe, and every dancer would say which tone they preferred. I was really feeling confident with the shoe and we were at the end of the process when Bloch wanted me to try these new bigger taps that covered the entire surface of your toe to the ball of your foot. The sound was really unique and the tone produced by the bigger tap was so rich, deep and base heavy that I loved it immediately! The sound I can produce with the taps is actually my favourite part of the shoe.
Are the shoes designed only for professional dancers? What are some of its unique features?
It’s a comfortable shoe that any level tap dancer can use. If you’re buying a tap shoe it should come as a tap shoe with taps on it already. With our shoe it’s ready to use straight out of the box, and it doesn’t have a long break in time. It also comes with optional pieces of rubber for the sole of the shoe. I don’t particularly like the rubber because it limits your ability to slide, so we have given this as an option.
The shoe comes with a build up (additional half soles on the toe and heel), which changes the tone giving it a deeper base and helps to balance the bottom of the sole. The build up also gives a richer sound and more versatility, so if you want to use the top edge of the toe, you have more surface area to create that sound or to do a toe stand.
My mission was to develop an instrument that can withstand the force that we use to create our sound. When we’re tap dancing we’re destroying our shoes and tearing them to shreds. My goal was to create a long lasting shoe. We’ve really tried to reinforce the stitching over and over again so people will get the most life out of it. It won’t obviously last forever but I believe in business, if you do the job right the first time, people are going to come back the second time. I also think the shoe will make a lot of tap dancers happy because it’s made for tap dancers by a tap dancer.Â
What is your hope for the Jason Samuels Smith Professional Tap Shoe?
One of my dreams for the shoe is for every tap dancer on the planet to try them once, and hopefully they will like them and continue to support them. Personally I want to continue to make the shoe better. I want people to give me feedback because it’s not about what I want, but about what we (the tap community) want.
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Jason Samuels Smith’s Guide to Buying Tap Shoes
When selecting tap shoes, it’s essential to consider what you aim to achieve with them. Are you purchasing shoes for performance, teaching, practice, or simply for their appearance?
Comfort is Key
If you’re a teacher who conducts multiple classes a week, comfort is crucial. Look for shoes that feel great right from the start—there should be no discomfort or the need to “break them in.” If your toes feel cramped or press against the front of the shoe, it’s a sign that the fit isn’t right. A proper fit is essential for both comfort and performance.Sound Matters
The sound your shoes produce is just as important as their fit. Be sure to test them on a wooden surface to ensure they create a sound you enjoy and that suits your style of tap dancing.Style and Function Must Align
While the appearance of your shoes is important, it should never come at the expense of comfort or sound quality. A tap shoe that doesn’t sound or feel great isn’t worth the purchase, no matter how stylish it looks.