The Barre, a Partner and a Prince

For many dancers, barre work is a special experience that they carry with them throughout their dance career. By the time a child has reached an age where they can start dancing at the barre a huge amount of excitement has built. You can guarantee that many will have spent years before asking when they can use the barre, getting in trouble for swinging off the barre and reading about the barre in ballerina story books! Adults who try ballet for the very first time also love learning barre work. I’m not quite sure what makes barre work so likeable for others but for me the barre helps me to feel a sense of belonging in the ballet community and brings lots of physical benefits to my own and my students’ dance practice.

Barre work can have huge impacts on the body. It is used to train muscles, correct alignment and build stability on the standing leg. It is placed at the beginning of the class to help dancers to warm up, find their balance and focus in on their dance practice. I always ask my students to treat the barre as their partner; they should carefully place their hand on their partner and always turn towards them as a sign of politeness. One day, I asked a group of students to imagine a stage where Sleeping Beauty is dancing with her Prince; the Prince lifts Sleeping Beauty up in the air and twirls her around. I then explain how Sleeping beauty and the Prince would have first learnt how to work with a partner at the barre. One young girl stood looking deep in thought and I thought she was going to ask a question about the Barre, instead she asked ‘Miss Emily, do you have a Prince?!’. To which I replied ‘Yes I do but he doesn’t lift me up and twirl me around!’. It’s moments like these which have me in fits of giggles and remind me why I love teaching.