I was just wondering if anyone had any good ways to break in their pointe shoes. I got this new pair--they are exactly the same as my old ones--but they feel different. I just cant seem to get used to them! Any tips would be great-Thanks!!

Born2Dance - I am not at all surprised that your new pair of pointe shoes doesn't quite feel like the old pair. I think every pair are different.<P>Think of your pointe shoes like people - some people look similar - same height/weight/hair color/eye color - but even identical twins are a tiny bit different. That is why it is so important to always ALWAYS try the pointe shoes on before buying them.<P>I have used pointe shoes for over 30 yrs and I almost always used the same size and style and even the same cobbler - and still the shoes were different from pair to pair. And, our feet change too - over time - and from the morning to the evening.<P>But - you wanted to know how to break them in. I always did it with my hands - I could feel exactly where the shank needed some flexing. I also used my hands to soften the wings and vamps. <P>Here is a link to a thread that was running very recently on this board in which I mentioned some books you might want to read and another thread about breaking in pointe shoes.<P><A HREF=../../../ubb/Forum7/HTML/000629.html><B>POINTE SHOES</B></A><P>