Can You Use Ballet Barres for All Kinds of Dance?

If you’re starting to learn ballet, it’s very natural that you’re going to be interested in buying a ballet barre to practice with. However what you may not know is that it’s actually very useful to use ballet barres for all kinds of dance.

One of the first, most important reasons is that all dance styles use a lot of energy and strength and many of the same muscles, and barre exercises are especially designed to build those muscles. Also no matter what style of dance you’re studying, you need to learn balance and ballet barre exercises offer some of the best ways to learn it because so much of ballet is about balance.

Flexibility is also vital, as it’s exactly what a dancer needs to be able to bring life and momentum to hip hop, jazz and countless other styles.

Barre exercises also improve posture, the importance of which can't be overestimated. For both ballroom and Latin dances, posture is important when working with your partner and for exuding that seemingly effortless elegance that likely played an important part in attracting you to dance in the first place.

Posture is also important if you're interested in ever competing in dance competitions, amateur or otherwise. Judges take posture into account very seriously when scoring, especially for ballroom dancing.

However ballet barres have more to offer than exercises. They offer a great way to practice new steps. For instance if your class is tackling a new tango step and you want to work on it at home, you might not have a partner to try it with and the balance a partner can give you plays a big role in the feel of each move. A ballet barre acts as a stationary partner, giving you the chance to learn the proper distance you should be from your partner and practice with that extra bit of helpful support.

At the end of the day, whether you’re learning swing, Irish step-dance, ballroom or ballet, a barre is an invaluable training tool.


Please feel free to contact us at any time; we'd be happy to share more information with you, and go over the barres that would best suit your situation.  We'd love to hear from you.

Top Benefits of Ballet Barre Fitness That You Should Be Aware Of

If your goal is to get in shape and lose weight in the coming year, you may want to consider ballet. Learning ballet can help you in more ways than one-here are some benefits of ballet barre fitness you should know about.

Sculpts Lean Muscle

Ballet moves are designed to develop long, lean muscles that in turn will make you appear more toned. It is particularly effective at toning the hips, calves, thighs and buttocks, which are problem areas for many people.

Flattens the Abdominals

Back and abdominal muscles are naturally strengthened, which leads to a flatter stomach.

Improves Posture

To perform ballet moves correctly, you’ll need to constantly be aware of your posture and alignment. This is likely to continue after you leave the dance studio because you’ll automatically be more aware of slouching.

Improves Flexibility

In ballet, you’ll work on muscles that aren’t often used during other activities. You’ll also spend a great deal of time on the barre stretching to warm these muscles for use. As a result, you should notice improved flexibility in only a short amount of time.

Eliminates Stress

The combination of dance moves and soothing music are enough to help you eliminate your worries and relieve stress. As such, ballet can be an excellent form of exercise if you regularly have anxiety attacks or suffer from depression.

Improves Confidence

You’ll naturally become more poised and confident as you master increasingly difficult moves. The fact that you look and feel better will help improve your self-esteem as well.


These are just a few benefits you can enjoy from learning ballet, but there are actually quite a few more. To see the huge selection of ballet barres we have for home or studio use, contact us.

All Barres Are NOT Created Equal

Ballet barres, by definition, are either mounted or free standing forms of handrails used to practice various performance moves that are balance based. Additionally, the bars can be used for pre-rehearsal warm up techniques, workouts, and stretching.  Not truly meant to be gripped tightly, it is commonly known that quite often they are indeed used in just that way.  So strength is paramount when choosing a ballet barre.

There are two typically seen types of ballet barre:

Mounted

As the name suggests, mounted barres are fixed to either the wall or floor in some way. They are horizontal and usually span the length of the periphery of the performance or work out area.  Diminishing in popularity due to several limitations, the biggest issue seems to be that users of the barre can only orient themselves in one direction, meaning instructors can only be seen when facing away from the wall the barre is mounted to.

Portable

Portable (or free-standing) barres are designed to be moved around. They typically consist of the main horizontal round rail mounted between two uprights with legs and feet. These are an excellent option as they can be readily moved when the floor needs to be clear, or when another studio needs an extra barre, as well as having complete freedom of movement and orientation.

Barres can be made from wood, metal, aluminum or PVC pipe, with wood and metal being the two most common, due to the inherent weaknesses in aluminum and PVC pipe.

Wood

Wood was the traditional material for ballet bars. However, this doesn't mean it's the best choice - far from it. While wood is quite visually appealing in a traditional sense, and pleasant to touch, finding long lengths of high-quality wood to create the rails from can be a difficult (and costly) task. It is not recommended to go cheaper when faced with this obstacle, as poor quality wood can splinter and split over time as well as slowly work loose from the binds affixing it to the wall or floor. Additionally, it is not recommended for use as a portable barre system as wood has a tendency to warp and lose its form with repeated moving and dis-assembly.

However, the biggest drawback to wood bars is the fact that they take in germs like a sponge, and pass them on to whomever uses the barre next.  Even with rigorous, constant wipe-downs, this fact remains one of the biggest concerns with wood.

Steel

Strong and inexpensive (depending on the type of metal used) and with an excellent strength to weight ratio, steel boasts quite a number of advantages over its wooden counterparts. Being non-porous, metal disinfects readily and easily as opposed to wood, which is important in public facilities.  Add in a powder-coated layer, and you have incredible germ-resistance.  Steel is also an excellent candidate for portable barre systems, as they can last for years and years with minimal upkeep and maintenance.


Though wood used to be the more traditional material for ballet barres, its time in the spotlight is slowly coming to a close as steel barres, like our Boss Ballet Barres, take the stage. The benefits of cleanliness, cost efficiency, and durability are sealing the deal for many looking for barres both for public and at home use. If you would like to read more about our portable steel barre systems, we welcome you to visit our website. Additionally, you can contact us to go over your specific needs, and one of our helpful staff will be able to recommend a customized solution, just for you.

How Ballet and Barre Fitness Can Help Kids Concentrate

As you may have seen or experienced yourself, children seem to have shorter attention spans these days, and the number of kids being diagnosed with attention-related disorders is at an all-time high. One way to help your kids become more focused without medication is through ballet. This classic form of dance is suitable for kids of all ages, and will allow them to have fun while also strengthening their minds and bodies.

The structured setting provided by a ballet class allows children to develop discipline and self-control. These concepts are reinforced as they practice new positions over and over to master them. In time, they become more confident in their abilities, and are more willing to listen to instructions both on and off the dance floor.

Physical exercise isn't just good for the body-it’s also beneficial to the mind. Kids who get exercise on a regular basis have less stress, better memories and are more focused than children who do not exercise. It’s not unusual for children to achieve higher grades after taking ballet lessons for only a short while.

When children participate in dance classes, they’ll be getting physical exercise instead of spending time in front of a television or computer. This is important, as overusing technology can also reduce a child’s attention span. They’ll be less likely to do these things outside of ballet class, since they’ll also need to spend time practicing at home.

Ballet and barre fitness isn't just good for children, but it’s also a great form of exercise for adults. For this reason, many families enroll together so they can spend quality time with each other and have fun at the same time. These families often purchase ballet barres for home use so they can practice outside of the dance studio as well.

Here at Boss Ballet Barres, we would like to invite you to contact us to find out more about our products, including the widest selection of structural steel ballet barres available for the home, school/studio, or professional settings.

Make Your Business Stronger with Portable Ballet Barres

If you are the owner of a dance studio, your business could greatly benefit from adding portable ballet barres. At Boss Ballet Barre, we make the strongest, and sturdiest of ballet barres available. The fact that you can purchase portable barres makes for great convenience to your business. Give this a thought...  You may not want to stay in your current location long-term. A larger facility may be an option in the future. If you have the Boss Portable Ballet Barres in your studio now, they could easily be transferred to your new facility.  If you do plan on staying long-term, our portable ballet barres are easily moved from studio room to studio room, and can be carried by only one or two students or teachers.

You most likely have a class for younger children. What is the biggest concern for parents of a child in learning? Safety is their number one priority. You can put their minds at ease by telling them just how strong and durable your ballet barres are. Here's the thing with parents: when they find something that's enjoyable and safe for their child, they share that information with other parents. Therefore, you may gain new customers just by having the safest and strongest ballet barres around.

As with most studios, you probably have a few different classes. Maybe one for small children, or beginners; and another for young adults, and another for more advanced students. The great thing about the Boss Portable Ballet Barres is that you can get them in many different sizes. The smaller children may get more benefit from our Princess barre, since it is designed shorter than the studio standard height, with children in mind. You could easily have a Princess Barre on one side of your studio, and still have one or several of our standard-height Intermediate or Pro barres on the other side.


For your convenience, we ship all over North America, currently with Flat-Rate Ground Shipping.  Feel free to contact us to speak to our helpful staff with any information request you may have.  They will be happy to help you figure out the best options for your business.