“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Good morning peeps, meditation done.
Quote for the Day:
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
I have really been enjoying working on all things BARRE this month.
A barre is a stationary handrail that provides support for people during various types of exercise. Barres are used extensively in ballet training and warm up exercises, where such exercises are commonly referred to as barre work. In a ballet class, barre may also refer to the part of the class that involves barre work.
Considering that the basic equipment (ahem, a ballet barre) and many of the moves are based on classic ballet positions, it’s no surprise BARRE was developed by a ballerina. After injuring her back, Lotte Berk, a German dancer living in London, came up with the idea to combine her dance conditioning routine with her rehabilitative therapy. She opened her first studio in 1959 in her London basement, where famous faces such as Joan Collins and Barbara Streisand regularly came to lift, tuck, and curl.
Lydia Bach, an American student of Berk’s, brought the workout back to the states in 1971, when she opened the first Lotte Berk Method studio in New York City. Over time instructors began branching off to create their own variations of the workout, such as Physique 57, The Bar Method, and Core Fusion, among others. In fact, so many teachers eventually left the original Lotte Berk Method studio that it ended up closing its doors in 2005.
To say the BARRE trend has heated up in the last 10 years is an understatement. BARRE has morphed from a class for nimble dancer-types to become the workout of choice for fitness fiends everywhere — and studios are springing up in droves across the U.S, internationally including London and across the UK.
There are now close to 700 corporate-owned studios spread throughout the states, with 100 more slated to open in the next year
In fact, Pure Barre has almost 300 locations, while The Bar Method has just opened its 82nd studio.
BARREtoned in Notting Hill where I was trained and teach is the nearest thing to Bar Method in the UK and in fact many of the senior and founding teachers where taught the Bar Method way over in the states.
This week I had a really great one on one session for a couple of hours with the very talented dancer and senior BARREtoned teacher Karen Aspinal on Thursday afternoon at BARREtoned and then got instant gratification from the positive feedback from the clients after implementing my new choreography and exercises in back to back classes on Thursday evening.
Looking forward to spending the weekend going over what I had learnt this week to begin to really nail the strict technical demands of the BARREtoned method, whilst still adding my own personal flavour on top when teaching my classes.
At the same time I am also really enjoying creating my own style of flowing BARRE more akin to classical ballet, complimented by yoga with sculpting movements and to give the participants a real feeling of being and having the grace and body of a dancer with the beautiful being who is the Zen Goddess Jessica Stewart at the exciting new fitness experience Centric: 3Tribes in Crouch End which is really beginning to kick up a storm and create waves in North London amongst the fitness community.
I am beginning to get to a place in my BARRE teaching, similar to where I am with my yoga teaching.
I found it was really refreshing to teach a beginners Ashtanga class at Chelsea Health Club on Wednesday evening and having stick to the strict postures of the Ashtanga Primary System with no music as opposed to my own style of Free Flowing Vinyasa Yoga Class based on the traditional poses of Ashtanga, but interlaced with free flowing moves and uplifting music, by artists like Erykah Badu, Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley.
I am now spending the morning putting the finishing touches to my own BARRE music before spending the weekend practicing and choreographing all things BARRE.
Exciting times ahead, I am really buzzing about the future.
Have a superb Saturday peeps and a wonderful weekend.
Why not get on the BARRE today before hitting the bar.
Breathe, Believe and Achieve
Be Happy, Healthy and Wise
Keep on Winning, Smiling and Living the Dream
Namaste
Steve Agyei
