5 Reasons to Have a REAL Ballet Barre at Home

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Vita Vibe ballet barre and pointe shoes.

Vita Vibe ballet barre, pointe shoes, and ballet art on the wall.

When you practice ballet at home, you can use almost anything as a barre: a table, a chair, the kitchen counter — heck, you could even use the towel rack on your bathroom wall...

The possibilities are truly endless.

There is a caveat, however.

When I use furniture as a barre, I find there are certain (often small) limitations that can, over time, become frustrating.

So, after a few years of fighting with my furniture, I finally bought a freestanding Vita Vibe ballet barre, and it has literally changed my life.

Here are five reasons I LOVE having a ballet barre in my home...

#1) Having a real barre makes practicing ballet easier (and more fun!)


Before I had a barre, I could never find a piece of furniture that was the correct height for barre work — no matter what I chose, it was always too short or too tall.

I also struggled to practice traveling steps, like piqués or chassés — I would run out of room quickly and stub my toe on some part of the furniture I momentarily forgot existed.

Stretching with furniture also proved difficult — placing my foot on the edge of, say, a bookshelf could be quite painful. (The corner always seemed to dig into my heel!)

Of course, none of these minor inconveniences should stop you from practicing ballet at home — you can dance anywhere, anytime.

Ballet is pretty cool like that, but...

If you are able, I highly recommend investing in a real barre, designed for ballet practice, for your home.

It's a game changer.

I use my barre, which I keep in my living room, every single day. It allows me to...

  • Practice traveling steps with ease
  • Stretch throughout the day (I have a double barre so that I can can go back and forth between heights for different stretches.)

Another bonus? Unlike the furniture I attempted to use for years, I never, ever stub my toe on it.

#2) You can easily move a freestanding barre around your home.


Vita Vibe barres are incredibly lightweight, and I am able to move mine around my house without any trouble.

If I am following along with an online class, I move the barre directly in front of my television or computer.

When I am finished, I push it back against the wall.

And if people are coming to visit and I’d like some extra space in my living room, I simply stash it in my bedroom.

However, while the barre is light and easy to move — do not be deceived! It is remarkably sturdy, as well.

Just as ballet dancers possess a unique combination of strength and lightness — so does a Vita Vibe ballet barre.

#3) With a sturdy ballet barre, you can practice petit allégro jumps.


If you're anything like me, petit allégro can feel like a royal pain in the derriére.

When it comes to those pesky small, precise jumps, I need all the extra help I can get.

In ballet classes, teachers often instruct students to face the barre, hold onto it with both hands, and jump up, allowing the barre to very briefly support their weight while they are midair. This gives students an extra moment in the air to practice beating their jumps — a moment they wouldn't have if they were jumping in the center.

I would NEVER use furniture to practice beated jumps. That just seems dangerous.

But my ballet barre offers perfect support for petit allégro.

Whether or not you are able to use your own personal barre to practice jumps largely depends on the kind of barre you choose for your home — a homemade barre constructed from plastic PVC pipes, for example, would not be sturdy enough for jumping.

But a well constructed barre that is made from a strong material can give you the support you need for petit allégro practice.

Vita Vibe barres like mine are made from hollowed aluminum and are able to withstand a downward force of weight.

That being said, if I pull on my barre from the side, it may fall over — it won’t break, but it might topple.

Downward weight, on the other hand, is just fine.

And think about it: apart from jump practice, ballet barres are not meant to be gripped, anyway.

A barre that can withstand petit allégro practice but that is also light enough to keep you from gripping during your normal combinations?

That's actually pretty perfect for ballet training.

#4) A ballet barre makes your space more beautiful.


To me, there is something comforting about the look of a ballet studio — the barres along the wall, the open space.

When I see a dance studio, I feel a certain warmth, and having a barre in my home gives me that feeling every day.

In fact, I think of my barre as a fixture in my home.

I ordered it in the color teal, and it fits right in with my living room decor. Other exercise equipment, like a stationary bike or treadmill, would stand out like a sore thumb — but my barre?

I actually like the way it looks and don’t mind keeping it out all the time.

(It’s also a convenient place for my family to throw their coats, although I admit it irritates me a bit when they do that!)

#5) Having a barre in your home can help you feel more connected to ballet.


If you love ballet, if you are a passionate dancer — why not have a ballet barre in your home?

Why not go all-in with ballet and make it part of your daily routine?

To me, having a barre in my home makes perfect sense. I think about ballet all the time anyway. I figure I might as well have a barre so that when I get an itch to go practice some tendus, pliés, relevés, piqués — it is easy and convenient to do so.

Just seeing my ballet barre in my living room each day makes me smile and feel a little bit more connected to the art form I hold so dear.

Of course, a table or chair will always, always do in a pinch. But if you’ve been considering buying a ballet barre, I highly, highly recommend getting one.

I have been incredibly happy with mine.

My barre has brought me a tremendous amount of joy and made my life just a little bit brighter each day.