Barre None: We Test Out Latest Ballet Fitness Class (Where Grace Is Not Required)

When I was five years old I was thrown out of my ballet class.

It was something to do with me rampaging around the room while my tutu’d classmates sat on the floor, obediently performing ‘Good Toes, Naughty Toes’.

“You weren’t the most graceful child,” my mum says, recalling the incident - and my unruly habit of doing a plié with both my backside and tongue sticking out.

“Your poor ballet teacher had never seen anything like it.”

Needless to say, 23 years on, I’ve not blossomed into a prima ballerina. I can barely even touch my toes, let alone leap into a grand jeté (airborne splits).

So when I heard about a new fitness class that turns all these strict rules associated with ballet on its head, I jumped at the chance. Ungracefully, of course.

What is Barre?

The class, called Barre, fuses classical ballet moves with elements of pilates, yoga and modern dance, and is set to high-energy music.

It’s said to give classical ballet a fun, 21st-century kick.

The concept arrived in London this year after sky-rocketing in the States, but until now has only been available in boutique and specialist gyms.

The Barre workout, developed by LA-based pilates, dance and fitness expert Tracey Mallett, is now being rolled out in Virgin Active gyms.

Studios have been kitted out with a ‘barre’ - a waist-high, horizontal rail mounted to a wall and normally used for ballet warm-ups and exercises.

And, as I was about to discover, it allows you to push your body much further than normal.

Ballet warm up…to a DJ

My taster session takes place at Virgin Active in Kensington and, as I arrive, I’m handed a pair of glittery purple yoga socks.

Now at least I look like Twinkle Toes.

“Barre is a full body workout that focuses on most women’s problem areas,” says master trainer Michelle Morrey, as I join the line-up.

“You’ll feel a lot going on in your thighs, tummy - and especially your bum.”

For our warm up, Michelle gets us to stand facing her in first position - heels together, toes out, tummy sucked in - then she switches on the music.

But instead of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, the electro beats of Avicii start filling my ears.

Ballet to a DJ? This just isn’t normal.

Soon we’re doing plies in time to the beat and lunging from side to side in a high-intensity version of second position.

We repeat the process on tip toes - bending our knees then straightening our legs over and over - and within minutes my thighs are shaking as though I’ve done 100 squats.

But the workout covers the entire body - and soon I’m doing the same thing while punching from side to side with a 1kg weight in each hand.

Just when my legs can’t take another second of hovering low over the ground with bent knees, we move to the barre.

Raising the barre

This is where the fun - but also the burn - really begins.

I drain my water bottle, towel the sweat off my face and take my place in the line with one hand on the rail.

We start by swinging our right leg forwards and backwards, moving our right arm above our head in time.

My other hand, which was at first lightly placed on the rail, is soon clutching it with a vice-like grip as I desperately attempt to keep my balance.

With one leg raised in the air, we start ‘pulsing’ it to the sound of Florence and the Machine.

I don’t feel like a ballerina - although by now I can at least feel the same muscles they use.

My calves, thighs and bum are already aching when Michelle hands me a pilates ball - about the size of a football, but squishier.

“Keep the ball squeezed between your knees,” she tells us, demonstrating a perfect and dainty low squat with both hands on the barre.

My own attempt is less fetching, but after about the 20th repetition, I start to get the hang of it.

To work our core, we thrust our pelvis forwards and backwards - a particularly odd sensation when your legs are in a prim and proper ballerina’s pose.

One minute I’ve got one leg lifted into an Arabesque, the next I’m wiggling my hips like Beyonce.

It feels completely bizarre, but despite catching sight of my bright red and awkward reflection, I’m actually starting to enjoy it.

The verdict

Clearly, this is not pure ballet.

We do a number of poses I recognise from yoga - including child’s pose and side twists - and pilates-style leg raises that flex my stomach muscles.

My jelly legs and aching arms are testimony to the fact that it’s a decent workout.

And the best thing? You don’t actually have to be graceful.

“It’s less about the aesthetics and more about the mechanics.” Michelle says. “I have a horrendous turnout but can hold my leg in the air for a decent amount of time.

“Barre is not about making ballerina shapes - it’s about working to your limits and improving on them.”

What’s more, this is one ballet class where I wasn’t thrown out.

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