You may have seen our Lotte Berk barre family tree and wondered why the lineage matters. Our friend Kelly Wackerman of theLONDONmethod describes it in a wonderfully delicious way: a family recipe for THE best chocolate cake. Ever. The ingredients and instructions are passed down from one generation to the next. I’m making the same cake that my grandmother made, and I’ll hand the well-loved recipe card to my grandchildren so that they can enjoy the same moist and chocolatey and decadent dessert that their great great grandparents served to family and friends.
In this scenario, one of those friends may be invited to multiple events where this cake has been served. They love it. They try to recreate it. They have the recipe for a different chocolate cake. They took a home economics cooking class in high school. Their kitchen is state of the art. But they use vegetable oil instead of butter. Or they leave out that extra egg. Instead of Dutch cocoa powder, they substitute it for store-brand. The oven temperature is off. They don’t know to add just a sprinkle of instant coffee to the batter. The cake is good, but it’s not great. It’s not THE chocolate cake. They didn’t have the recipe and tried to piece it together.
Barre from the Lotte Berk lineage is the same. We have the recipe.
Others try to recreate it with a dance background + taking some barre classes. Or a Pilates mat certification + taking some barre classes. A yoga studio may hang a barre on the wall. Personal trainers and group fitness instructors watch some barre moves on social media. Like the friend who wanted to make THE chocolate cake, it may be a fun fitness class, but it’s not authentic barre. Something is off.
Where we really get into trouble is when these decent fitness classes take off and the people who mashed them together pass what they are doing on to a next generation. The blind is leading the blind.
It’s become so prevalent that those who have the recipe for THE best chocolate cake (ever) are in the minority; when they teach a barre class, they have to explain that this class with minimal props is actually barre. This class without classical ballet terminology, tendus, and passés is actually barre. This class that feels like magic- this is barre.
We get it; it’s often a case of not knowing what they don’t know.
The Barre Fitness Alliance is here to show you the way to that recipe for THE best chocolate cake. Ever. Our board of directors are all descendants of Lotte Berk on the barre family tree. We have vetted our Education Partners and can guide you to the best training so that you, too, can entice your students with THE best chocolate cake, err, barre class. Ever.
