Pointe Shoe Prep: Breaking them In

Even after your ribbons have been sewn, they're still not ready to dance in because of the stiffness of the shoe. Before you can dance comfortably in them, you need to take steps to break them in and form them to your feet.

You will need:
-Pointe shoes with the ribbons and elastics already tied on
-A sturdy door
-A hammer or a hard surface
-Scissors

1) First, you need to smash/flatten the box of the shoe. This can be done in multiple ways, but I like to use all three to get the best results. To start, place the shoes on the floor and stand with your heel on the box. Alternate between putting all of your weight on your standing foot and the heel on top of the shoe.

2) Place the box of the shoe between a sturdy door and its frame. It is very important that this is a strong door, because the shoe could potentially break the door if you push too hard. Move the door back and and forth a few times until the box is adequately flattened.

sorry for the gross lighting

3) The last step to flatten the box is to either hit it really hard with a hammer or whack it against a hard surface like a granite table. As a ballerina, I find this the perfect time to get my anger out without hurting anyone and in a way that actually benefits me.

4) Next you'll need to form your arch. Like you did with the box, place the point where the arch of your foot is (where your ribbons should be sewn) in between a sturdy door and its frame, and move the door back and forth until the arch of your shoe can be easily bent with your hands.

okay, I've already broken in and worn these, but how else
am I supposed to show you what to do?

5) Bend the arch a little bit more in the same place, but move it both ways back and forth with your hands this time. 

6) Put on and tie your shoes, making sure that the drawstrings are hanging out. Flex your toes and pull on the drawstrings until there's very little room between your feet and the sides of the shoes. Tie the drawstrings in a knot and cut them so that the tails are only about one inch and tuck them into your shoes. 

7) Here's a little extra thing you can do at home or when you're stretching during class to stretch both the arch of your foot and the arch of your shoe: get on your knees and sit on your heels. Put your hands behind you and lift up your butt and your knees so that your weight is on your hands and on the fronts of your toes. NEVER do this when you're not in pointe shoes, you could seriously injure your feet without the extra support from the box. 

hopefully you can see what I'm doing with these fabulous pants in the way

8) Keeping your shoes on, the last thing you'll need to do is walk around on as high of half-toe as possible. This might be uncomfortable at first, but keep doing it until it gets slightly more comfortable. Take off your shoes and do the same thing you did with the arch: bend the half-toe area with your hands back and forth both ways.

You can repeat these steps at any time in your pointe shoes' life if you think a certain part needs adjusting. For more information on pointe shoes, a great book with lots of information is To the Pointe. Some of the information is outdated, like the method for finding the place to tie the ribbons, but a lot of it was really helpful to me when I first started pointe. 

Comment if you'd like me to make anymore posts with pointe shoe information and tutorials!!