Get to the Pointe — pointe shoe hack

If you've ever seen a ballerina take a brand-new pair of pointe shoes—fresh out of the box, pristine, worth over $100—and immediately start whacking, slamming, cutting, and burning them (yes, really), you might be wondering: Why are they destroying expensive shoes before even wearing them? Welcome to the wonderfully weird world of pointe shoe prep! Pointe Shoes: Not Your Average Footwear Pointe shoes may look delicate and dainty, but they’re basically handcrafted torture devices that need to be tamed. Straight out of the box, they’re stiff, unforgiving, and about as comfortable as walking on wood blocks (because... that’s kind of...