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Before you can soften the shank, the reinforced sole of the pointe shoe, you’ll need to figure out where your natural arch breaks. The break is where the heel becomes the arch. Bend your foot to see where your arch naturally breaks. You can mark the point on both your foot and the shoe with a marker. Avoid arbitrarily bending the shank of your pointe shoe, since this may not correspond to the natural break in your arch. After you’ve identified your natural break and marked it in your shoe, pry up the shank and bend it back and forth gently at the marked position.  This will make the shank more pliable when you rise up on pointe. Remove the small nail that fastens the shank to your shoe. Put on the shoe and extend your foot from flat to demi pointe to begin molding the break. This will help you know the exact shape of your foot in your shoe. Remove the shoe and gently mold the area of the shank where your natural arch breaks. Work the area with your hands, following your mark and the shape your foot has made. Molding the shoe where your arch naturally breaks will make rising in your shoes more comfortable and increase the life of your shoes.  You don’t need to add heat to help with shaping the shank. Since you previously wore your shoe to begin molding the break, the heat from your foot will have been enough.  There’s no designated left or right ballet shoe- your own feet will determine this as they break in the shoe. Label each shoe to make sure you’re consistently putting on your shoes until they are broken in enough to identify by sight.
Identify the natural break in your arch. Bend the shank at the natural break in your arch. Wear the shoe to mold the break. Mold the shoe with your hands.