etherealights ([info]etherealights) wrote in [info]ballerinas,
@ 2008-05-26 02:32:00
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Current location:under the covers.
Current mood: tired
Current music:bruised - jack's mannequin.

pointe shoe problems.
my demi in my pointe shoes is not breaking in. i've had this problem with all my shoes so far, and it's annoying.

i've had these shoes for a month and a half now. they're shaping nicely and the shoe is pretty broken in otherwise.
i've got short toes, so i have the shortest vamp you can get in a Russian Pointe shoe. and i prefer Russian Pointe, because my feet are sososo difficult to fit and it already took forever to find a pair of Russians that supported well. Chacott may work better for me, but i'm in between sizes so that's out of the question.
i know the grishko elite has an even shorter vamp, but the shank is too hard for me.

so i'm wondering, how do i get my demi to break in? i feel a demi forming, but it's not breaking in at the right place; it's too low down my foot.
i've tried manually doing it by hand, but the part of the shank near the box is too hard and it won't let me.
what do i need? softer shank? there's no shorter vamp i can get, and any shorter would be too short anyway. and the box isn't too hard; that's not the problem.

+as my shoes are breaking in, i'm starting to feel more pain/pressure on my left toes. the pointe shoe fitter said they might stretch slightly as they break in--is this making me sink in? my teacher said it could be solved by wearing another thing layer of padding {it's a very small stretch if any}...but i'm not sure that'd work.

thank you girls (:


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[info]icey
2008-05-26 10:25 am UTC (link)
I know I got crazy blisters after my shoes are broken to the point of not even supporting me but being a poor college student, I definitely made taping my toes and adding extra lambs wool (I have both the lambs wool pads AND loose lambs wool) to last me until my next available moment to buy shoes.

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[info]etherealights
2008-05-26 02:41 pm UTC (link)
oh alright, thank you (:

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[info]miricalestar
2008-05-26 02:54 pm UTC (link)
Well, my feet are pretty flexible and hard so I can break in a demi-pointe of the shoe easily. However, best way is just to work them through your classes - and making sure not to get blisters at the same time :) - or, you can apply alcohol to where the demi-pointe is supposed to be and then wearing your shoe, break in the demi-pointe from there (or hammering it). Be careful though, alcohol is very strong! XD

Hope this helps~

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[info]etherealights
2008-05-26 03:05 pm UTC (link)
yeah, i've been trying to work through my demi in class a lot.
but thanks for the advice, i'll try that (:

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[info]spinninghead
2008-05-27 10:30 am UTC (link)
Alcohol can help... rub it on the actual satin part of the shoe where your toe knuckles bend... also a softer shank would probably help as well. The harder the shank, the harder it will be to break in. If you have small feet, a harder shank will be even harder to break in, too. So... really the best thing to do is to go to a dance store that does fittings and see what they say. Honestly, that's the best thing I ever did for my feet as far as pointe shoes go.

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[info]etherealights
2008-05-27 07:53 pm UTC (link)
that's what i was thinking; i tried on a softer shank {it was a chacott} in the store and i worked through them perfectly, but i was in between sizes. i've got small and really narrow feet, so i'll look into that. thanks (:

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[info]faerieariel
2008-05-26 04:28 pm UTC (link)
I don't sweat enough to break in a shoe very quickly, so I have a spray bottle (like a plant mister) and I fill it with 16 oz of water and 1-2 capfuls of rubbing alcohol. Then I put the pointe shoes on, spray the area that I need to "weaken" (for me it's also the demi) and push the demi while I watch TV. hen it dries, I do it again, and repeat it 5-10 times till it starts to feel better... it doesn't have not perfect, cause in the next 2-3 classes they will 'finish' breaking in.

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[info]etherealights
2008-05-26 05:45 pm UTC (link)
ohh, that's a good idea!
i don't sweat enough either.
the thing is, i'm thinking it's also that part of the shank that isn't breaking in. the box has gotten softer just by working through it, but the shank's not budging much there.

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[info]faerieariel
2008-05-27 02:52 pm UTC (link)
oh, you can spray the bottoms too.

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[info]etherealights
2008-05-27 07:51 pm UTC (link)
gotcha, thanks (:

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[info]ninjabacon
2008-05-27 01:29 pm UTC (link)
You may want to try a shoe with a shoe with a 3/4 shank or altering it yourself.

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[info]etherealights
2008-05-27 07:46 pm UTC (link)
it's a 3/4 shank already, but thank you (:

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[info]sultana_de_maz
2008-05-27 06:24 pm UTC (link)
I have never found a really good way of breaking in the demi-pointe other than just working it with the shoes on. Put on a heavy sock and just jounce up and down on demi-pointe for a couple minutes before class. I also wear Russian Pointe with the short vamp and this has helped. If your shoes have really hard boxes, try running the demi-pointe spot under a stream of water. Mind you, this can shorten the life of a shoe dramatically, depending on what brand and style it is. But also I think you don't need to be able to do a full demi-pointe (the way you would in slippers) in pointe shoes. I mean, you don't really do anything on demi-pointe in pointe shoes. Of course you want them to be flexible, but I'm just saying.

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[info]etherealights
2008-05-27 07:48 pm UTC (link)
i'm pretty sure it's not the box that's too hard {it's quite soft already}. i'm thinking it's the shank that's too hard.

yeah, i get what you're saying, but it isn't flexible at all, really :/
thanks for your help, though. (:

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