A New Ballet Barre—Convenient, Portable and Beautiful

Several ballerinas stand poised along a barre, each with one hand resting atop

it and the other reaching out to the side as they complete an exercise. They lower their

arms and withdraw their extended foot from the closing tendu, holding the final

position for a few seconds. “That concludes our barre work for today,” calls out the

teacher. “Practice at home—your relevés could be a lot higher!”

The students pause and think to themselves as they carry the barres to the back

of the room. How can they best practice at home? Perhaps some have bulky barres of

their own, homemade or bought expensively from a dance shop, but the rest are stuck

with using countertops and windowsills. What they could really use is a more portable

and convenient barre, fully functional and even beautiful. Such a product has finally

arrived, after five hundred years of ballet history.

History of Ballet

Ballet is a formalized dance form focusing on technique and performance. It

originated in Italy during the Renaissance, when dancers collaborated with musicians to

create entertainment at fashionably lavish weddings. Some say that ballet was originally

a dance interpretation of fencing. This early ballet, the name of which comes from the

Italian word balletto, meaning little dance, was much less formal than it would later

become. Dancers were not as highly trained as they are today, and at the end of the

dance, the whole audience would often join in. Dance attire was simply the fashion of

the day--ballet slippers and tutus had not yet been invented. Soon, however, ballets
 2

began to be produced and performed specially, and the first produced ballet was the

Ballet Comique de la Reine, choreographed in 1581 by Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx for the

court of Catherine de’ Medici. Ballet soon spread to France, where under the rule of

Louis XIV, it flourished in the royal court. The “Sun King”—a nickname which came

from a ballet he danced himself in 1653—was a dance aficionado, and established the

Académie Royale de Danse in 1661, now known as the Paris Opera Ballet. In France, the

form of the ballet developed into a dramatic program more similar to today's

productions, through the efforts of Italian composer Jean-Baptiste de Lully (born

Giovanni Battista di Lulli) and French playwright Molière, who collaborated to combine

the Italian theater style of commedia dell'arte with French dance. Among their most

successful works was Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, produced in 1670. Their legacy

defined the future of ballet, establishing it as a legitimate art form, and France as its

center. Since the first schools of ballet were in France, ballet terminology is nearly all in

French even to this day, no matter where around the world one may go. The first to

reference the five positions to the body was Pierre Beauchamp (1637-1705), a French

choreographer, dancer and composer (tiptoedancewear.com).

Throughout the 1700s, ballet continued to evolve. It came to exist in three

methods, the sérieux, demi-caractère and comique, and was also sometimes featured in

operas as an interlude. In 1760, Jean-Georges Noverre wrote the influential Lettres sur

la Danse et les Ballets, saying that a dancer's movement should communicate emotion

in order to tell a story. To this end, he argued, a dancer's bodily form should be

displayed as much as possible by wearing less cumbersome and more natural attire.

France remained the heart of ballet development, but companies opened throughout

Europe and also Russia, not the least of which was the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg,
 3

which opened in 1738. The Bolshoi Ballet Academy opened in Moscow in 1763, and

ballet would soon flourish in Russia (tiptoedancewear.com).

The Romantic period of the nineteenth century brought women into prominence

in ballet. Before Lully’s Le Triomphe de l’Amour in 1681, female dancers had not even

performed onstage in a ballet production—all female roles were played by men, because

it was thought that women wouldn’t be strong enough to wear the heavy costumes

comprising masks, headdresses and lengthy gowns. However, the popular image of an

ethereal dancer floating across the stage put women in the lead roles in ballets of this

period, and the role of men became to lift and support them as they completed turns and

leaps. Pointe technique developed around this time, pioneered by ballerinas such as the

Swedish-Italian Marie Taglioni and the Austrian Fanny Elssler. Pointe shoes in their

infancy, however, were very thin and were strengthened only by a bit of extra darning,

so dancers could not hold positions longer than a few seconds. Anna Pavlova would

eventually create the modern pointe shoe, which is stiffened and strengthened with

tough leather. The first pointe dancers were also some of the first to wear costumes with

skirts that did not reach all the way to their ankles—in Taglioni’s most famous

performance, La Sylphide in 1832, she shocked the audience with her shin-baring skirt

that she had shortened in order to show off her pointe work. The classic tutu, which

consisted of stiff layers of crinoline or tulle and was designed to display legwork, began

to appear in the late 1800s (tiptoedancewear.com). In 1894, Pierina Legnani became the

first ballerina to receive the ultimate title of prima ballerina assoluta, a title bestowed

upon her by French choreographer Marius Petipa. She was the first to perform 32

fouettés en tournant, an extremely difficult step which involves first standing with one

foot flat and whipping the other leg around to the side, thus turning around, then rising
 4

up en pointe in the middle of the turn and touching the working foot to the supporting

knee. Only nine dancers throughout ballet history have received this extraordinary title

(balletalert.com).

Anna Pavlova as the Dying Swan in St. Petersburg, 1905

In nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russia, the ballet was thriving; many

companies were active and choreographers were composing prolifically. Marius Petipa

collaborated with Pyotr Tchaikovsky to create some of the most beloved and well-known

ballets even of today, such as The Nutcracker in 1892 and Swan Lake in 1895. The

Ballets Russes were a company that toured the world under the directorship of Sergei

Diaghilev from 1909 to 1929. They presented a new, sensational kind of ballet that

incorporated many different types of music, art, and dance, and were called everything

from classical to avant-garde. The Ballets Russes boasted the likes of Anna Pavlova, who

was perhaps the most well-known of all ballerinas throughout history. She became

famous for her dramatic and imaginative role as The Dying Swan, choreographed for

her by Michel Fokine in Camille Saint-Saëns's Le Carnaval des Animaux in 1905.

Fokine believed that costumes should relate to the story being told and be historically
 5

accurate where relevant, rather than simply a tutu, a concept that would effectively

influence all ballets to come. The tours of Russian companies in the United States,

especially after World War II, encouraged the development of the art there. Russian-

born George Balanchine opened schools in Chicago and New York in the 1930s and

1940s, including the famous New York City Ballet, which grew to great renown. The

Royal Ballet was founded in London in 1931, the home company of prima ballerina

assoluta Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991) (tiptoedancewear.com). Today, there are famous

and active companies all over the world, perhaps the most significant of which are the

Kirov Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet, the New York

City Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet. Some of the most famous ballet dancers of today

are Sylvie Guillem, born in 1965, who performs at the Paris Opera Ballet; Paloma

Herrera, born in 1975, who dances with the American Ballet Theater; Polina Semionova,

born in 1984, who dances with the Berliner Staatsoper Ballet Company in Germany; and

Julie Kent, born in 1969, who dances with the American Ballet Theater

(balletdancersguide.com). There are certainly also many well-known retired dancers,

including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Darcey Bussell, Alessandra Ferri, Alicia Alonso, and

Cynthia Gregory. Through its colorful history, ballet has become popular and well-

known throughout the world, providing a pastime and passion for those who enjoy its

challenge and appreciate its beauty.

 6

The Kirov Ballet performs Swan Lake in Los Angeles, 2006

The Current State of the Field

Ballet has become a popular enough activity that only the most talented dancers

find work in the professional field. Most dancers begin studying dance between ages 5

and 15, and if they plan to pursue a career in dance, they often have their first

professional audition by age 18 (bls.gov). Dancers usually retire by their late thirties, the

average age at retirement being reported as low as 29 (ballettalk.invisionzone.com).

After a career in dancing is over, job options for dancers include teaching dance and

choreographing among other studio- and performance-related jobs. Because of the

nature of dance-related employment opportunities—performances usually run for a few

weeks at most—employment is short, irregular and not guaranteed. The median hourly

income for dancers was $12.22 in May 2008, the middle 50% earning between $8.03

and $18.82 (bls.gov). Most dancers do not rely on dancing to support themselves and

work other jobs to supplement their income. Nevertheless, dance’s allure and the

passion it incites ensure that it remains one of the most popular pursuits in the quest for

careers. As of May 2008, there were 13,000 professional dancers in the United States
 7

(bls.gov) and countless more practicing their art as amateurs, in homes, schools and

studios all over the nation.

The Purpose of the Barre

In the ballet lesson, dancers learn everything they need to know for

performances, from the fundamentals to the specifics of vocabulary, technique, posture,

and appearance. Today’s ballet classes are generally one to two hours long. About two-

thirds of the time is spent doing exercises at the barre and about one-third is spent in

the center of the room. Center exercises and barre exercises alike consist of short,

perhaps one- to five-minute-long combinations of steps set to music.

Preparatory position at the barre.

Students warm up at the barre, beginning with the feet and moving to the rest of the legs

and the body, in exercises which become progressively more involved. Finally, students

can put into use the strength and technique that they have learned at the barre by

working in the center of the room. Center exercises include turns like pirouettes and

piqué turns, leaps like grands jetés and sautés, and other traveling steps like the

glissade, chassé and pas de chat. These exercises are more similar to performing
 8

onstage, but working with the barre provides invaluable opportunities for dancers to

improve their technique. For example, on the barre, dancers can learn the steps for

jumps and turns slowly and carefully, which on center stage require much

concentration. Likewise, the presence of a barre makes practicing balances much easier.

Standing at the barre, dancers can pay more attention to the posture of their

bodies. They must focus on standing tall and straight, rotating their legs outward from

the hip socket in a quality called turnout, and strongly engaging the muscles of the core,

that is, those from below the neck to above the knee. Because of the nature of the barre,

barre exercises are designed to strengthen the body and to perfect form. For example,

tendus are an extension of the leg meant to strengthen the foot as it pushes carefully

into and across the floor, with care taken to articulate the motion at the ankle and toe

joints. Practicing tendus also improves turnout—the heel carefully leads the leg forward

as the small toe leads back. Likewise, rond du jambes, which are a circling of one leg

either on the ground or en l'aire, strengthen the leg and teach it to rotate in the hip joint

while keeping the hips square and level. Leaps, as well, can be learned at the barre. To

learn the tour jeté, first one skips forward in a chassé, then kicks the outside leg into the

air in a grand jeté, then holds both hands on the barre for support and height while

quickly turning halfway around in the air and swinging the inside leg to the back,

landing with the outside leg, shifting weight and turning halfway around once again in a

temps lié to begin again. This step is to be completed within two seconds, but practicing

on the barre enables dancers to take steps as slowly as necessary as well as providing

direction and support.

 9

Attitude to the back

Ballerinas must be able to hold themselves in balances, either with one leg

extended in arabesque or with the working foot resting on the supporting knee in retiré.

The alignment of the leg, whether straight and allongé or bent in attitude, is precise and

important. Practicing at the barre in front of a mirror is essentially prerequisite. Though

graceful dancers may make them look easy in performances, turns require much

concentration and poise as well. Even supporting oneself and being able to walk en

pointe takes a huge amount of strength and control, which can be cultivated at the barre.

Dancers also use barres to stretch on, such as the hamstring stretch, performed

by placing an ankle on the barre, extending the leg, and bending down over it. These

stretches can be worked into combinations set to music, involving pliés, or bends at the

knee, and cambrés, or bends at the waist in any direction. For this reason, it is

imperative that barres be smooth, strong enough to withstand considerable weight, and

the correct height.

Barres in ballet studios are usually mounted along the wall at about hip height or

a few inches above. Many ballet classes also use heavy “portable” barres to
 10

accommodate more dancers, ten or twelve feet long and often made out of galvanized

steel pipes. Being inconvenient in any situation save the ballet lesson, where they can be

stored at the back of the room, these barres are not the best option for home practice. In

fact, most ballerinas do not have a barre at home, the major drawback being that

existing portable barres are rather large and inconvenient to store. They are also

expensive, and although functional barres can be constructed at home, this naturally

takes much time and effort.

A ballet barre from Estudio Miscellania

However, the presence of a barre at home enables dancers to improve their skill

in infinitely more ways than simply stretching and practicing on the floor. Since dancers

are obliged to do their major stretching at home, as well as to strengthen their muscles

and perfect their technique by practicing exercises, they can benefit greatly from having

equipment at their disposal. Ballet equipment is minimal—other than proper attire,

consisting of dance slippers and any type of clothing that does not restrict motion,

usually a leotard and tights, dancers use only the floor and the barre. Thus, having a
 11

lightweight, convenient and portable barre at home could offer dancers an invaluable

opportunity to practice the exercises they learn in class as well as giving them creative

license to create their own.

Cambré, Our Product in Detail

Finally, this portable, convenient and strong ballet barre has arrived in the form

of Cambré, an oak and aluminum model weighing only twenty pounds. Fully

assembled, it is six feet long, enough space for any dancer to stretch or perform traveling

exercises, and 36 to 42 inches high to accommodate dancers of different heights.

Cambré collapses and dissembles into four pieces, of which two measure 36 inches by

1.5 inches and two measure 24 inches by about 6 inches. Its weight is rendered yet more

manageable by the complementary hand-sewn carrying bag the size of an average

backpack. Though Cambré is simple to assemble and separate, its structure integrity

remains sufficiently uncompromised; it is strong enough to support a dancer’s weight

and will not sway or bend. Finally, Cambré has an attractive wooden design adding to

its appeal. Cambré is a dancer’s dream, the final solution to the problem of a

convenient home ballet barre.

Cambré maximizes strength, portability and beauty. The entire model is divided

into four sections, two of the barre itself and two of the aluminum legs. The barre piece

is constructed of a professionally cut piece of oak, smooth and comfortable as well as

naturally beautiful, with a rounded top and a flat underside. It separates in the center,

being joined by a steel rod which extends from the middle of one end and inserts into a

hole in the other. This joint is strengthened by a small aluminum plate fastened onto the
 12

flat underside of the wood. At the other end of each piece of oak extends a twelve-inch-

long piece of hardwood, making up the top part of the separating legs. The hardwood

contains two spring-loaded buttons spaced about two inches apart on either side near

the end. This end inserts into the legs of square aluminum tubing. By depressing the

buttons, one can adjust the height at four levels between 36 and 42 inches high. These

buttons are simple, yet extremely strong.

The legs comprise three pieces of square aluminum tubing, forming a triangle

design with an aluminum chain. The 24-inch-long main shaft extends downwards from

the hardwood, reaching about ten inches from the ground. From its base extend two 18-

inch aluminum segments at a 45-degree angle perpendicular to the line of the barre,

providing a base of over two feet long. Rubber strips are attached along the bottom of

the feet where they touch the floor for traction and stability. These two support pieces

are hinged to the main and can fold up and down for carrying and storage. In the

assembled position, a thin, strong metal chain hooked between the pieces at the

midpoint uses a tension system to hold the pieces in place.

How it Works: Reviews and Testimonials

Aesthetics aside, the question of Cambré is whether it performs to the standards

of highest quality professional ballet barres, and it has stood up to this challenge

admirably. Though its joints comprise smoothly turning hinges, its structure remains

strong and stable. Dancers can perform regular barre exercises in comfort as well as

safely levy their weight onto it when stretching. Cambré has supported weights in

excess of 100 pounds, as measured by a pressure scale. In preliminary tests by three

ballerinas, each reported satisfaction with its look, feel, and stability. The barre held up
 13

steadfastly at all four height options. One seventeen-year-old dancer said, “The

Cambré’s sleek nature is great for stretching and all other barre exercises, and its

adjustable height allows it to be versatile for all ages.” In the words of a thirteen-year-

old, “The Cambré has the perfect amount of support and strength for me to do all my

barre exercises, yet it is simple and compact which allows me to set up quickly and easily

anywhere I want to dance.” These analyses testify to the reliability and success of our

product.

The Design Process

Cambré is easy to assemble and dissemble, relying on the simplicity of its

design as its greatest strength. However, the design process to the final product was by

no means simple. All sorts of preëxisting designs of objects which must be likewise

strong, lightweight and compact were studied to determine the best design options, like

normal barres, tables, scooters, crutches, camera tripods and even telescopes.

Originally, some ideas such as a detachable base, tripod legs, and a folding middle

section were considered, but each of these ideas proved problematic with either

construction difficulty or by interfering with the ease of product use. Finally, a design for

a separating barre was decided upon, but the first problem soon surfaced in keeping the

pieces together without compromising the smoothness of the barre’s surface. This was

solved by abandoning the idea of an entirely round piece of wood in favor of one with a

flat underside, which then made it possible to attach an aluminum plate at the central

seam out of the way of the dancer’s hands, which both fastened and strengthened the

joint. Another problem was figuring out a design for the legs alternative to the tripod
 14

design, which had at first seemed the best option for collapsibility but would have been

weak as well as rather large when fully assembled. Aluminum and wood legs were

eventually decided upon instead, since being made of nesting pieces of square tubing

and wood they would be able to collapse as small as a tripod, but would be much more

compact and strong when extended. The design idea of flat folding-down aluminum legs

was then presupposed until construction began, at which point the practicality of such

legs manifested itself as none too great. The cumbersome joint between the flat feet and

the central leg, which extended up from the ground, was very difficult to strengthen so

that the legs would not wobble back and forth. Finally, that design was abandoned in

favor of the present, much stronger triangle arrangement. This was one of the last

modifications to the overall design, taking advantage of the principle of tension to

strengthen the structure using minimal material.

An original design of Cambré excerpted from the engineering log

Designing and strengthening the joints also proved problematic. Initially, the

critical joint between barre and leg was assumed to be a hinge, presenting difficulty in

making it strong yet collapsible. The separating barre pieces rendered it portable, and

each piece of the barre was decided to swing down from the legs, creating a two-part

design. However, the problem of strengthening this joint proved insuperable, and we
 15

conceded to add a short, twelve-inch-long section to fasten permanently to the ends of

the barre and insert in the tubing of the legs instead. Finally, the holes for the steel rod

in the middle of the barre had to be drilled especially tightly and precisely, not only so as

to ensure that the barre was uninterruptedly smooth, but also uncompromisedly strong.

When building the prototype, a small error was made in cutting one of the holes and the

result was a wobbly joint which did not support enough weight. However, in building

the final product, every care has been taken to ensure that measurements and cuts were

made with utter precision.

Cambré in the early stages of construction

Future Improvement

Though Cambré does answer the question of a portable ballet barre, there are

certainly some things about it that could still be improved. One of its drawbacks is that

when folded up, the components of the legs are not kept together securely in the closed

position. This problem is not critical because the carrying case holds the parts quite

manageably, but all the same, adding some kind of snapping mechanism to keep

everything in place would make it more convenient. The materials used for this

prototype could also be substantially reduced, having been bought for a bulkier original
 16

design and not being the best suited to the final one. This would make the overall weight

lighter and the design more efficient. With Cambré as a successful prototype and using

sturdier and lighter materials, we could go on to produce a ballet barre in the future that

is even more simple and strong.

Conclusion

The portable and manageable Cambré is truly a victory for dance equipment. Its

elegant oak and aluminum structure would make any dancer proud, but beyond

aesthetics, its functionality is faultless, between its smooth and strong structure,

convenient collapsibility, and reliability. We believe it will revolutionize the world of

dance practice by helping dancers everywhere augment their skill and giving them

another reason to love dance. Cambré is an investment not to pass up.

 17

Works Cited

1. "The History of Ballet." Discount Ballet Dance Wear and Apparel. Web. 30 Mar.

2010. <tiptoedancewear.com/ballet-history/>.

2. "Dancing Online, History of Ballet." College of Computer and Information

Science | College of Computer and Information Science. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.

<ccs.neu.edu/home/yiannis/dance/history.html>.

3. "Ballet Terminology A-Z." Dance Help: Dance Tips, Articles and Dance

Resources. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. <dancehelp.com/articles/dance-

dictionary/ballet-dictionary.aspx>.

4. "The Performers." Ballet Alert! An Online Newsletter for Those Who Love Ballet.

Web. 30 Mar. 2010. <balletalert.com/ballets/Petipa/Swan

%20Lake/SLPerf.htm>.

5. "Famous Ballerinas - Current Dancers You Need To Know About!" The Complete

Ballet Dancers Guide. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. <balletdancersguide.com/famous-

ballerinas.html>.

6. "Dancers and Choreographers." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 30 Mar.

2010. <bls.gov/oco/ocos094.htm>.

7. "Ballet Dancer Stats. They ARE Different from the Rest of Us - Ballet Talk."

Ballet Talk (Powered by Invision Power Board). Web. 29 June 2009. 30 Mar.

2010. <ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=29822>.