Barre Bodies

Shape up for summertime with two of the hottest dance fitness trends.
By Jen Jones

After suffering a severe back injury in the 1960s, ballerina Lotte Berk created a fitness system that combined rehabilitative therapy with ballet barre work.  And thanks to dance fitness techniques like The Bar Method, Physique 57, Fluidity, Go Figure and others developed by the late Berk’s former students, her revolutionary approach lives on.  Here we examine the two most popular Berk offshoots as a way for dance teachers to stay in tip-top shape during the summer months.

The Bar Method

THE CONCEPT: A sculpting workout that combines dance conditioning, interval training and muscle toning.

HOW IT EVOLVED: Creator Burr Leonard studied with Lotte Berk for 10 years, during which time she opened a number of LB studios in Connecticut.  “I started breaking down the exercises and restructuring them to be safer and more targeted,” says Leonard of The Bar Method’s genesis.  Since launching her method independently in 2001, she has continued to refine and finesse the technique: “I think of The Bar Method as a live language that is always getting better through study, knowledge and experience.”

BODY BENEFITS: Along with fat-burning benefits, a heavy focus on form results in improved body alignment, grace and coordination.  Leonard says dancers rave about the rehabilitative aspects: “We’ve had some former ballerinas say they can now go back to their dance classes and feel great.”

TYPICAL CLASS STRUCTURE: After warming up, students proceed to strength training via free-weight work and push-ups.  Heel lifts and thigh stretches come next, followed by seat work in various positions.  The second half of class is spent sitting under the barre doing leg and ab exercises, and it finishes with a final stretch.  “The joy of The Bar Method workout is the burn and the feeling of the stretch,” says Leonard.

THE TOOLS: Ballet barre, free weights, exercise mats and stretching straps

FUN FACT: The sky seems to be the limit for The Bar Method’s positive effects on dance technique, says Leonard.  “So much power is developed in the thighs that dancers can leap to the ceiling during changement.”

CELEBRITY DEVOTEES: An impressive number of boldface names have flocked to The Bar Method’s West Hollywood studio, including Drew Barrymore, Alicia Silverstone, Zooey Deschanel, Kyra Sedgwick, Tori Spelling and Ginnifer Goodwin.

PLANS FOR GROWTH: With 25 locations around the country, the franchise is spreading like wild-fire – with new locations planned in Newport Beach, California; Boulder, Colorado; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and NYC.

WEBSITE:
 www.barmethod.com

June, 2009