World Latin 2005 from Czechoslovakia which was won by Cocchi and Australian born Joanne Wilkinson dancing for Italy shown early this morning. To get to the point for those interested the Rumba was played at 24 bars per minute.Samba 56 . Cha Cha 32. Paso 60 and the Jive 44. The Samba is now a bit faster. The Rumba a lot slower. Swing Jive has completely gone. Shoes one of the competitors was brushing the soles of her shoes. They appear to be as flexable as a pair of innersoles.

Several shoe makers have been marketing half-shank or soft-shank Latin shoes to provide greater flexibility through the arches. Latin ladies with great strong feet (like Joanne Wilkinson) can do amazing things in these kinds of shoes -- beautiful toe points, very high toe rises. They're not for beginners, but for a true athlete and artist with strength and flexibility. It's great to see shoe design evolve.

I wonder if anyone will ever come up with a truly great shoe for ladies for Standard?