Ballet Barre
The Importance and Significance

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Ballet classes begin with exercises at the barre. Barre work should make up a significant part of a ballet class.

Dancers doing barre can be compared to musicians practicing their scales. It is the core of the ballet dancers craft.

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Whether you use a permanent barre or a portable barre, they both give the support ballet dancers need during training.

Barre work is a vital part of your ballet class because of the following reasons:

• The footwork gains precision and speed.
• The muscles become warmer and more pliable.
• Helps the body prepare for turns and jumps.
• Flexibility and strength will increase.
• Improves balance.

The barre prepares ballet dancers for further training. For example, when you do frappés it's preparing you to jump.

Barre exercises can be slow and repetitive. They may seem boring because all you want to do is get up and dance!

However barre work is something that will benefit you in the long run. You may not notice it happen but barre exercises will improve your flexibility, strength, balance and precision.

They steadily build strength and teach the correct body placement.

The barre is where we develop our leg and foot muscles.

Barre work prepares ballet dancers for pas de deux (dancing with a partner).

This is why ballet dancers should keep a light hand on the barre because it will later turn into your partner.

The barre is needed when ballet dancers begin to do pointe ballet.

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The ankles of a training ballet dancer may not yet be strong enough to support the body in the centre. So the barre is a necessary tool.

Even if you feel you could do all the work without the barre, it's still important to warm up using the barre. The barre is good for finding your center before performances.

It's beneficial to often test your balance when you are on the barre. You can do this by lifting your hand off the barre from time to time. This would make it more familiar for your body when you come into the centre.

Barre work gives the complete support when you need it. It's helpful because it gives you a chance to focus on any particular part of the body.

You can perfect a certain movement or position with the help of the barre.

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