Don’t expect Barre classes to be like ballet.

Much in the same way that I got myself along to my first Iyengar Yoga class, that is, on someone’s hearty recommendation, I finally attended my first Barre class. I had no idea what a Barre class was. I just trusted my friend. As well, I trusted my innate curiosity to try new ways of using my body.

In childhood, I wasn’t one of those little darlings who took ballet classes. And I wasn’t one of the littlies who swanned around in tutus at any given opportunity. In fact, I was a tomboy.  I never did dance classes until I was an adult when I took ballroom dancing because my sweetheart of the time was keen. Sorry to say, I was not enthusiastic and didn’t last.

To my surprise, and, again, like the Iyengar class, I loved the Barre right from the start, and so I became a regular attendee.

The workouts we did in the Barre classes were accompanied by pacy music and very fun. They had elements of aerobic exercise, stretching, strengthening, and, omg, pliés! Demi pliés, pliés on rises (relèvés), grand pliés, done in 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th ballet positions.

Barre classes that are taught by an instructor who is tough on alignment will help students who have hip prostheses, as I do. They will contribute to strength, stability and general fitness. When I had my double hip replacement surgery, the surgeon had had to incise my gluteal muscles as well as the minimus muscles. Then, they were reattached, but needed much time to heal. I discovered in my first Barre classes that these areas, though outwardly healed, were still weak. If this weakness is not addressed, one’s gait and balance will be affected. So, 16 years laster and that much older, I still have to work hard to strengthen these muscles.

I have been happily attending classes in Taree at Active Barre for nearly six years now, drawn as I am to the physical support the exercise routines offer. But classes are only as helpful, fun and inviting as the instructor. In this case, Wendy Dawson, the director of the studio, is a humble, yet magnetic teacher who has created a lovely and dedicated Barre community. 

We bandy around the term ‘amazing’ these days, applying it to many people, places and things, but it’s the first thing you would label Wendy. Not the least because of the way she keeps expanding her studio, the equipment, the staff and her own training. The original timetable featured only the Barre classes. Now there are Pilates Matwork and Reformer classes, even a dance class.

One of the surprises I experienced from working out in the Barre classes was that doing ‘rises’, the heels up, is so good for my incipient bunions. It’s as though simply moving the toe joints has kept them supple and stopped the encroachment of further swelling of the bursa. An example, perhaps, of motion is lotion, as I mentioned in my last post in this series.

I’m present to the often-overlooked component of successful classes, that is, the magic that can happen when people gather in community. Why overlooked? It’s like the water a fish swims in, invisible, but all-encompassing. When you are part of a healthy community, you feel included and look forward to regularly meeting up with others.

Having created yoga communities in Sydney and now on the midnorth coast of NSW, I see that one of Wendy’s contributions to her students health and well-being is the safe, welcoming and warm environment of the Barre classes. An atmosphere that has had me keep coming back year after year.