How do you "slow down" a fast floor that prevents you from getting any kind of traction. We are not allowed to use parrifin wax in any form on the floor, in fact technically we are not supposed to put anything on the floor.The usual gimmicks such as caster oil on swede soles, soap powder used like a boxer's sand box have been tried as well as rosin. Any suggestions?

You can slow yourself down. Stand in a minor puddle of clean water. The suede on the bottom of your shoe will grip the floor better.

Something I have used in the past, though I put it on the floor - maybe you could put some on your shoes - is a sticky substance, such as cola. Rosin, being powdery, can not stick to your shoes as well, but cola, being a liquid can absorb (test with just a bit on your shoes - don't want you to ruin anything!) and see if that helps!

Superdance have put out a anti - slip powder. It comes in a thing like a pepper shaker. This is for the soles of the shoes. Other than that if oil is not the thing to use. Any soap in water will do the trick. I've even used the liquid soap from the rest room when nothing else was available.

Some of the places I dance, the problem isn't necessarily the floor being too fast or too slow. The bigger problem is some parts of the floor are really fast, and some parts of the floor are really slow. Any tips on how to cope with this. Or any ideas on how to make the floor evenly fast?

-Rip

I believe talcum powder will speed up a sticky floor, but I don't recommend it.
With today's health and safety laws you will probably find that dance insurance will be invalidated by any floor treatment added. If someone slips you will be liable.
Between dances, I scrub my shoe soles with liquid soap, rinse and let dry. This will give them grip until they pick up floor treatments, then I resort to a hand-towel from the restroom dampened with plain water to get me through on a very slippy floor. Place it on the floor under your table and be discrete!

Yes, water can help, but a few minutes later the shoes will be dry and even more slippery than before. Caster oil lasts longer.

I wear rubber soled shoes at social dance venues that I know are too fast. I actually love that. It sounds like you are talking about comps though.

Places that have both slow and fast spots are the worst. I have seen that before, but I never went back.

Several places I go to where the hall is used for other uses and gets polished into something like glass. On the dance nights they sprinkle the floor with shredded Paraffin Wax which I believe is candle wax. It doesnt harm the floor in any way and it will disappear. It does though collect on the soles of the shoes. After each session this can be removed with a wire brush specialy made for the job.

A slippery floor can cause injuries but a sticky floor can cause injuries too especially to knees. The person hosting the dance needs to do a risk assessment to determine if the floor is too fast or too slow. Too fast may lead to falls, too slow joint injuries. By inaction either way may lead to legal action.
Let's say you did a risk assessment by dancing on the floor before the event and you find it sticky. By hiding behind "We are not allowed to put anything on it" may not protect you at all against legal action, you knew it was sticky, you know people will get sore knees but you did nothing even though you have a duty of care.

Some uncaring person somewhere has determined that legal action is more likely if someone falls rather than gets twisted knees so let's keep it slow?

The real problem is that suitable, predictable and effective "floor toppings" don't seem to exist. Sawdust (eg. Pops) make the floor inconsistent, slippery in places and still sticky in others. Wax can be OK after the dancer has had a few evenings on wax but initially its like dancing in stiff mud!

My feelings is that you only use venues that have a suitable floor and don't try to modify a bad floor, suitable products don't exist. Most importantly clean the floor very well, every bit of grit causes problems. Always do a risk assessment before the dance and sign-off. If you feel its OK but a little fast then warn the dancers. If you do a risk assessment and someone gets hurt then you are in a much better situation than no risk assessment.

I sometimes use baby oil on my soles on a fast wax floor to slow it down and have one pair of shoes with the reverse leather and another (for fast floors) with thin cork sheeting glued on the soles. This cork sheeting (gasket sheeting) can be found in auto shops and is cork impregnated with neoprene rubber, excellent for fast wood floors.