So, you got yourself a new pair of tap shoes. That is great. A new pair of ballet shoes can make all the difference, as they can help you to look your best and provide you with a better feel when performing. Now you can dance up a storm in your new shoes, but you want to take some steps to ensure that they are properly broken it. This article should help you to do just that.
There are four different techniques that you can use.
Exercise in Demi-Pointe
The first rule for breaking in your ballet shoes is to wear them frequently. Once you have learned how to wear your shoes properly, then you want to wear them all the time. You want to walk around your house on demi-pointe, practicing getting the shoe to feel comfortable around your feet. Do simple ballet steps and moves while you move around your home. The objective is to get comfortable with those shoes and to break them and so they feel more comfortable on your feet.
Crush the Box
One of the primary reasons why going en pointe can be so painful is because of the stiffness of the shoes coming out of the box. To help speed up this process what you need to do is to gently crush the box in the pointe shoe by using your heel. Your goal is not to destroy the box completely. Instead, what you are looking to do is to reduce the stiffness in the top of your shoes.
Here’s How to Make It More Flexible
One of the other things you can do to help make your feet feel more comfortable is to bend the shank. This will help to increase the flexibility of your shoe, which greatly improves the comfort level. Keep in mind that no matter what type of shoe you are purchasing, they are going to have a different level of stiffness to them. This depends upon the style and foot shape.
As a word of caution, make sure that you are careful when bending the shank. You want to make sure that you do not completely break the shoe, so do it with precision.
Tip Toe Where You Go!
One of the best techniques for breaking in your shoes is to tiptoe around your home or the dance classroom. Do this while over the box and en pointe. This is a very simple technique which not only improves your ability as a dancer, but helps to break in your shoes at the same time.
It will feel uncomfortable at first. There is no denying that it all. However, this technique is highly effective for dancers of all skill level. You were going to find that the more that you do this, the more comfortable your shoe will feel and the greater strength and skill you will have at the same time.
Be careful though, do not overdo it. You do not want to get to a point where you have pushed your feet to the limit, so that you are uncomfortable dancing anymore. So, make sure that you are careful about the amount of time you are dedicating to practicing your dancing while breaking in your shoes.