3/4 Shank your Pointes
Put on your shoes. Without tying the ribbon pull the heel of your shoe down towards the ground so the back of your shoe is inside-out.
Take the insole and pull it upwards. It should unstick from the bottom of your shoe.
Measure three-quarters of the way up your shoe. Starting from the tip to the end make a pencilled-out mark 75% of the way up.
Use pliers or extremely sharp scissors to cut through the wooden section UNDERNEATH the insole.
Replace the insole. Restore the insole back to its original position so that your pointe shoe is wearable once more.
Try on your shoes, again. Gently roll up in them from demi-pointe to full-pointe. This should help to break in your demi-pointe.
Bend and Flex
Take off your pointe shoes. Now, hold them in front of you. Find the seam on your pointe shoe that runs just above the ribbon. Take your two thumbs and press down using some force into the bottom of the shoe. Do this right about where the arch of your foot would sit in the shoe naturally. Push your thumbs down on the shoe to recreate this arch. (This should help to create the same arch that your foot makes when it is on pointe).
Repeat this for around 10-15 minutes for each shoe.
Put your pointe shoes on. Fasten them, and roll up onto demi-pointe, then full-pointe. This should break in your demi-pointe. Alternatively, get the pointe shoe and put your thumb inside where the pointe would be. Do it gently. Put your thumb in and hold the bottom of the shoe. Then hold the top with your other hand to bend the sole slightly. Some dancers put them in a sock and smash them on concrete to soften them. But as a beginner breaking in a pointe shoe, it is better to put the pointe shoe on and wear it around.
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