Performance Surface - Traction

Traction

In general dance requires less traction than gym. However a floor should not of itself be very slippery or sticky. DIN 18032 defines a range of traction which should suit most activities. These type floors should also be smooth, and a slide should not cause carpet burn. This means it is difficult to stop them becoming slippery when wet.

Most of the differences between the different disciplines can and should be catered for by the use of appropriate shoes. On the same surface a dance shoe with a leather or suede sole will give much less traction than a gym shoe with a composite rubber sole. A sticky floor used for gym is very likely to cause twisted ankles, and a slippery floor used for dancing is liable to cause bad falls.

Everyday footwear nowadays tends to have a higher traction. For occasions like weddings where the dancers may not have proper footwear a slightly slippier floor could compensate somewhat, but a highly polished floor can be very dangerous with leather soles. Both gyms and dance clubs are better off providing good safe floors and encouraging the use of proper footwear.