Antonio Pacelli® Gazelle Irish Dance Pumps

■ Our Gazelle pumps are made of soft leather uppers that mold to the shape of the foot and allow flexibility.
■ The full-length leather soles allow you to train the intrinsic muscles of your feet, helping you achieve that perfect arch.
■ Our pumps include elastic loops at the top to help secure your foot in the shoe creating a snug fit.
■ A full-length of padding runs along the inside of the shoe absorbing the shock that can cause damage to your tendons.
■ Designed for the traditional dancer with a classic aesthetic and a few modern touches that make our pumps a go to.

Although they go by a variety of different names the Irish dance pump is an essential piece of any dancer’s practice and performance. A good pair of pumps can help you move your feet to the best of your abilities. Back in the olden days of Irish dance, before it was transformed into the high powered competition performances it is today, people danced in barns and mainly barefoot. They would adorn themselves in their best church clothes and gather together to dance and celebrate.

Once Irish dance was transformed into legitimate competitions people’s passion for dance, and dance attire, as a result, took off. Irish dance shoes, in particular, became a specialty item associated with Irish dance. There are two types of Irish dance shoes, a hard shoe, and a soft shoe. The hard shoes, sometimes called heavy shoes, are mainly used in the dances that require powerful taps. These sounds are emitted when the fiberglass heels and soles of the shoes hit the ground. You could compare the Irish hard shoe to tap shoes, although they tend to be bulkier. Sound is a key piece of the whole of the performance for such dances as the traditional Hornpipe.

The main objective of soft shoes on the other is not focused on sound. Their objective is to allow the dancers the flexibility to point and arch their feet as needed. While hard shoes are similar to tap shoes, gillies, or pumps, are similar to ballet slippers. The main difference that can be found between pumps and ballet slippers is the way they are laced. Pumps are tied with laces up the front of the foot while ballet slippers tend to use elastic to keep the slipper in place. The laces allow for the shoe to fit differently based on the shape of the top of the foot.

Our Gazelle pumps have sturdy laces and also includes elastic loops at the top to ensure an extra snug fit. You won’t have any worry that our essential pumps will go sliding down the back of your heel during complicated numbers. So whether you’re dancing the reel or slip jig our pumps will be able to keep up. The Gazelle pumps are also made of nice soft leather that feels great on the feet. You will quickly be able to work in your new pumps and get them competition ready. The leather upper molds to your feet without losing shape.

And thanks to the soft leather's flexibility our pumps easily stretch with your foot as you point your toes and create that perfect arch. Our pumps also have a full-length leather sole so they are great for training purposes as well as performance. The full-length soles create a resistance in the shoe that trains the intrinsic muscles within the foot. Training those intrinsic muscles will assist in the flexing of your toes allowing you to fully arch your foot.

Our pumps are also fully padded, providing full-length cushion to your foot. As you step and jump you can be assured that your feet and joints are being protected from the harsh shocks that can come with landing on your feet. The cushion will absorb any negative impact that usually results in sore tendons. With any soft shoes, you get what you want is flexibility and a pair of pumps light enough to allow you to execute precision steps. And our Gazelle pumps do just that.