What is the point of warm up boots?

Why do dancers wear those strange looking booties over their dance shoes? You know the ones, that look like sleeping bags for their feet. 

An array of warm up attire is worn before class, in between class and before performances. Anything from leg warmers, onesies, tights over leotards and of course, warm up boots.

Like any athlete, dancers need to make sure that their muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints are warm and pliable in order to perform at their best and to reduce risk of injury.

Warm up boots are designed to speed up and maintain the warm up process to keep dancers’ feet warm. They even out the warmth to ensure that every part of the foot and ankle is nice and toasty. They also need to be flexible so as not to hinder the movements of the dancer.

Warm up boots are pulled over your dance shoes and can be worn with ballet slippers, jazz shoes, or pointe shoes –any basic dance shoe other than tap shoes. In addition to keeping the feet warm, warm up boots with a durable sole will protect the dance shoes from the non-dance surfaces like tile and carpet that often lead to premature wear and tear on your dance shoes.

Dancers love comfortable warm up gear and warm up boots are no exception. The comfier the better.