I dont think it is possible with ordinary modeling tools.
But I guess it can be done in animation (bending of sorts).
Control Vertices are quite static i think. But if you used cv's for a nurbs curve, then a few/restrained number of cv's can make the surface more "bendable" when moving a pair of cv's.
I am but a senior newbie, but I believe there is no satisfactory solution to you problem.
The scale tool could be used to move pairs of cv's, but there is no way to strictly control the "desirable" positioning of a number of cv-pairs, far as I know.
But let me know if I'm wrong guys.
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