Chicago Dance Supply

I was in a horrible pinch and the nice young ladies at Chicago Dance Supply went above and beyond to make my costume a reality!
I needed bunny ears for an emoji party I was attending, and that is something you can’t just find willy nilly at the last minute. To my surprise, the wonderful woman went in to the depths of their storage warehouse to make our costume a reality.
Best customer service ever!
Thanks ladies!

Helpful staff and a good selection. The Unilocal deal helped me get over the initial sticker shock. This is the first time I’ve purchased dance shoes.

Staff is helpful mostly; store seems cluttered and disorganized. The best part is that this location has a great selection of dance shoes. The negative is that store policy is returns is for store credit and exchange (no option for refund to original form of payment.) Unfortunately, if you need to return an item in addition to this return policy you will be charged an additional 15% restocking fee. I would recommend shopping and comparing prices online or on
to avoid this inconvenience and financial loss should you have to return. One other thing, I was told about the restocking fee only AFTER I purchased and asked about returns. I see from other reviews that there is a «frequent buyers club» — no one offered to explain this.

I don’t usually review retail but this fine 2d story shoppe is an exception – well stocked, cool stuff (for Halloween, dudes – and year round), plus really pleasant service. They explain everything, find what you need, and don’t charge an arm & a leg (which is a good thing, considering the merchandise). I totally recommend satisfying all your costume and dance-​ware needs at this Andersonville staple.

Came here on a Sunday morning at 10 a.m. and was lucky to find plenty of FREE parking on the street. I was looking for a pair of Ballet shoes for my 2 ½ year old. I didn’t want to buy them online because I know shoes vary and I thought I would get the size wrong.
The store was easy to find but it’s upstairs, not a store front location. The lady who was there was very helpful and quick in helping me find a great pair of shoes for my daughter. We also bought her a cute Ballet bag to put her shoes in. It’s a great little store, very well stocked! I saw lots of leotards and tights. I’ll definitely come back here in the future!

So I’m not a dancer (not since I was about 9 anyway) but I needed some tights to complete a costume for Lebowski Fest and figured a dance store was about the only place I’d be able to find them. Seeing as I no longer live «in the city,» I was really hoping to not have to drive all the way down there but the stupid place in River Forest didn’t even come close to having the right color. Boo.
So down to Andersonville we went.
We walked right by the place initially, probably because I didn’t pay attention to the fact that they were on the 2^nd floor. We hiked up the stairs and were greeted by a friendly lady. I told her what I needed and she was on it. Oh, I brought in the leotard so we could match as close as possible. I handed it to her and she went to work. They even had a little lamp hanging from the wall, I guess to do just that. She informed me that apparently Capezio changed their «nude» color so we looked at the old one vs the new one. It looked pretty close to me.
I noticed there was a Unilocal check in offer but I didn’t use it because I didn’t spend enough.
So yes, they had what I needed and the drive was worth it. When I got home and tried the ensemble on, the colors match perfectly.
I don’t think I could have spent much more time in there though, it was pretty hot inside.

Not a big fan of this place. It is really small and we were informed as soon as we walked in that they would be closing in 15 minutes. Did I mention that they didn’t even say hello?! Talk about lousy customer service. Oh and they have a pretty crap selection. I ended up just ordering my dance shoes online, saved a ton and no jerks! Win win!

Location was pretty hidden so it took some effort to find it. There was a pretty long wait for help with the shoes since only one person was on staff but once they assisted, they were helpful. Unfortunately they did no have the size shoe my dad needed so we had to place an order and wait 8 weeks. We did not end up buying that pair but an alternate pair.

Somethings are reasonably priced, others could be a bit on the pricey side. I really like their frequent buyers club, if you shop there often it’s great. Used it a couple times now.
Rating is based on employees, I had really good service and then I’ve had horrible service. It depends on who is there. I could even say that they at times they feel bothered or aggravated by having to many customers at once, well isn’t that the point, to have shopping customers.
But overall this is my go to dance supply store, just wished they be nicer since you are a paying customer.

Great variety of dance apparel and lots of sales!

Reasonably priced for a local dance shop. Friendly and patient workers. Anytime I need something quick for dance class I’ll be sure to come here!

The quality of service is spotty, but they’ve got what I need and are close to home, so I just deal with it. Pricing is fairly reasonable.

I have been here multiple times and the staff is always super helpful, friendly and patient. This is my go to place for dance and performance needs

I don’t think so! I have been there 3 times. the owners are fine. However, the people that work there are not. I asked do you have the «buy one get one free still on». reply: «No.» I went into the other room and there was a sign (on a certain brand),…“2 for 1″…I said «oh ok… u do have it»…this young woman STILL denied it…(she said: 2 for 1 is NOT «buy one get one free.» I have had other un– comsumer friendly encounters.,., All I can say is the owners are fine… if you deal with them… however, the staff are not! Unreasonable… not able to make any decisions… perhaps that also reflects on the owners if they are not able to let their staff make very easy customer service decisions!

If there was more than one person working here the day I went, I would have had no idea. But the man who was working there was so absolutely helpful that I’ll forgive the wait to be helped. I was purchasing some character shoes for a performance (I’m a singer and definitely not a dancer, so I had absolutely no idea what I was doing shopping for them). But he seemed really kind and invested in what I needed, and he seemed to be giving the same kind of service to the other customers who were there, since he was juggling customers. If I ever need to purchase more dance shoes/​gear (and as a singer, who knows — maybe I will!) I’ll definitely make this my first stop.

Staff was beyond helpful and very nice! They have a nice stock of everything and the prices are very reasonable. I will be coming here for all my daughters dance supplies

I really enjoyed shopping here. I purchased some ballet slippers and had to try on many before I settled on some leather ones. The saleswoman was super patient and really nice. The store had lots of shoe options. I would go there again. They have a frequent buyer card :)

Everything I have for dance is from here. They’ve got a solid selection of ballroom, Latin and Argentine tango shoes (other stuff too, but those are the ones I dance) and the staff is always really friendly and helpful. They often have discounts on certain days of the week for certain things or coupons on their website so check them out online and figure out when to go. They can also help custom order if you want.

Helpful — yes.
Knowledgeable about colors? not so much.
I needed an unusual color for a project, so it occurred to me to call a dance supply company. I called ahead, since I don’t drive. I asked for pink, specifying ‘pepto bismol’ pink. I asked if she knew what that color was, again noting that it was a very vibrant color, I was assured they definitely had it. 2 buses later — I’m at the store and she brings out the tights … baby pink … not even baby pink — it was more of a peach.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a VERY PRETTY SHADE … but *not* what someone who does not drive wanted to see /​hear after traveling specially to get something they were assured was in stock.
I’m disappointed yes … not completely dissuaded from going back — service is everything, and while she didn’t really know what vibrant pink was … I’ll go back again.

I should get commission for how many people at my dance studio I refer to Chicago Dance Supply. I already have my sales pitch down to «Chicago Dance Supply is the only dance supply store I know of in Chicago. Though you can buy your shoes online you should at least go to CDS for a shoe fitting. CDS is located on Clark and Berwyn on the second floor above the North Community Bank and across from the Starbucks.»
Seriously.
After taking months of ballroom dance classes, I noticed I wore my Capezios down to the nail, and was in dire need of replacements. My instructors told me to call some companies online but I didn’t like the idea of describing my feet to find the perfect fit — hence, my visit to Chicago Dance Supply.
Ballroom dance shoes can be quite expensive, and CDS does have a bit of a reputation for making them even more expensive. However, I was comfortable with paying $ 100 for my fabulous, memory foam footbed, suede bottom, 2.5 inch Go Go Dance brand ballroom sandals because I spent an hour asking for expert opinions from CDS’ staff. I was quite happy with my purchase.
Then I realized 2.5 inch heels aren’t good for the 8+ hours of dancing I do per week.
I returned to CDS to get low-​heeled, suede-​bottom shoes and was happy with the service again. Even if dance shoes are labelled as your street shoe size, they may not be correct. For example, the low-​heeled shoes I just purchased are labelled size 12!!! (No, my feet aren’t huge!)
My second shoe purchase could have been expensive, but thanks to the FREQUENT BUYER REWARD CARD program (ask about this!), the $ 100 I spent on my 2.5 inchers gave me a nice $ 10 discount on my low-​heels.
CDS offers sale items every month which are noted on their website. CDS also has their own brand of ballroom dance shoes, has gorgeous Argentine Tango shoes, ballet shoes, flamenco/​character shoes, Irish gitties, dancewear and dancer gifts.
So why not 5 stars? I’m waiting for the day CDS offers Comfort brand ballroom dance shoes and will let me custom order some red nubuck sandals :-D