How to Break In Flamenco Shoes

Another question I've had recently is "how do I break in flamenco shoes?"

The idea of "breaking in" flamenco shoes is misleading.  You don't want your flamenco shoes to lose any of their rigidity or strength.    They're not like pointe shoes, where some dancers do crazy things like crushing the toe in a door and flexing the sole to make it bendy - flamenco shoes do a good job just the way they are!

With a flamenco shoe, all you want is for the leather or suede uppers to mould to your feet so you don't get blisters.  The only way to do that is to wear them.  It's a good idea to wear them around the house for a few days before you try dancing in them - just be careful the tacks don't scratch your floors.

On that note, if you find the nails are scratching, it's simple to fix - just go outside and scrape them against the concrete on the sidewalk until you get a nice smooth surface (run your fingers over the tacks to check).   Don't walk on concrete, though - it will wear the nails down.

Photo by Andrea Balducci