I have decided for the upcoming term a couple of my intermediate/advanced classes will be working with a set barre for their ballet technique classes.

When I have used a set barre in the past I have taken the first week of class for students to learn the combinations and then they work on those combinations every class alternating every 3 months with a new set of barre combinations.
I have found it to be a success, particularly if I incorporate music the students find enjoyable.

Does anyone else work with a set barre or do you change it up every class?

I do generally keep my barre the same. I teach mostly under 10 crowd and find they learn most by repitition. When I taught advanced classes I only changed my Barre routines in January.

I have certain things that I keep the same, plie's is one, I have certain exercises that I change in and out and some that I'll spend a few lessons on, like a nice adage that I want to see certain qualities in.

Basically my students know that some bits will be the same but others they won't have done, that way they have to keep listening but there are parts that are familiar to them so they can concentrate on technique.

Sorry, I didn't specify that this is what I do with my older students, my younger ones, up to age 11 or 12 will have a set barre, but I still have more exercises than I can fit into one lesson so there are still changes each time. Frappes one lesson Petite Battement the next, fondue for one lesson retire or develope the next. You get the picture

I also teach mostly younger students and teach a set barre for the same reason that repetition goes a long way in building the muscle memory and when they know the barre routine then I can get them to the center in a timely fashion.

I teach little's and int/adv classes. My little's barre does not change. We start in September with 4 exercises and then each month add on 2 more. We spend the whole month working on these new ones and by the End of January, we are doing a "full" barre for that age group.

My int/adv classes have set combo's for plie, tendu from 1st, battement jete, battement en cloche, grand battement, and leg stretches on the barre.

The following combos change slightly from time to time, either utilizing a different band of music for tempo changes or to add a releve to it...

tendu from 5th, rond de jambe a terre, rond de jambe en l'air, grand rond de jambe, fondu and frappe

This group knows their combos fully by the end of October. I like that they do not have to "think" with every combination and can really use things like focus, head placement and musicality while dancing. It is also helpful so that when we have Parent Observation in December, they can move quickly through barre and spend more time on center work and across the floor. We prepare a special Holiday dance for the families and spending less time on barre each week, allows us to focus on choreography for those 10-15 minutes instead each week

I keep my barre the same every week for both older and younger kids.

My basic concept is that the more you do it the more focus you can spend on corrections rather than working on understanding the combinations.

I notice also that the students tend to remember the corrections that I make and then they apply them without me correcting them because they remember that during Whatever Exercise last week I told them to whatever. It really doesn't matter what ages from 3 to 18 this concept works (although I wouldn't call it "barre" with the 3 year olds but it's a similar concept).

oh wow - I'm actually surprised so many keep it the same! My teacher growing up kept the barre pretty much the same for just about a week. So if you went to class more than once a week, you'd get the same barre, but the next week it was different. And some people only came once a week, so that was that.

That being said...

I keep barre the same for about 1 month before I switch it up because my kids do only come once a week and are not yet at that level where the choreography can be switched up on them. I too figure that it is better for them to concentrate on their technique than on the choreography. Once they get a little further along I may change it more often. I do understand the benefits of changing it a lot too, so that they pick up things quicker.

^^I don't have many students who are advanced enough for me to change things up too much at this time, but I find myself trying to change things up in other areas. Some seasons I do more changing up of things but others I will stick to the same things the entire time.

I personally think it's all the way that you teach. I had some teachers who kept it similar to the way that I do and some who change it up. Both ways are affective. It just depends (in my opinion) on the students that you have at a given time.

I have a set bar as well. It allows me and the girls to focus on corrections.

Those who have a set bar, can you post your combos? I am curious to compare.

I grew up with a set barre AND most of the center work too. I always felt at a disadvantage when I would take class other places (workshops, master classes..) because it seemed like my brain was too slow. When I started teaching I changed things up all the time so the kids would have to think. Well, I've now moved back to primarily using a set barre. I agree with the above posters. Using a set barre gives the students a chance to think about their bodies instead of just the combo. Also, I was using up way too much time teaching new combinations every week. It was almost impossible to get in a full barre! Now I usually change out only one thing every week or two to keep them "on their toes." I also do a set center port de bras and adage - adding to or tweeking every now and then.

I'm surprised how many work with a set barre.
I have seen a lot of benefits associated with the repetition that comes from having a set barre, but also found success in changing the classes from week to week.

For my little ones up to my intermediates (age range is from 5-10) we do the same base combinations everyweek. Generally: plies, releves, tendus, etc... and then change up the rest of the barre from class to class.

My older ones tend to get tired and lazy after having a set barre for a long period of time. I've gotten used to changing my routines every class to keep them on their toes.
I'm excited to go back to set barre and can't wait to see the results this year.

I was surprised that so many people use the set barre. Like Vista 5 and ballet star 05 said, I am worried that it will keep them from picking up in the center quickly(I have this alot at my studio, and no one uses a set barre). Also, I would be worried about the autopilot factor as well. But i do agree with the focusing on technique.

eloisefig wrote:

Also, I would be worried about the autopilot factor as well.

If you as a teacher are involved and fixing every detail that needs to be fixed of every student you won't get the auto pilot factor.

For example: Right now I have a LOT of students who have never taken ballet or have taken it from a lousy teacher who didn't teach much so I had to start basically from scratch. I taught the combinations and then every class I focus on something different. First I focused on correcting the legs and feet; once that was pretty much down I focused on posture; then arms and so on. I did the same thing with the advanced girls that I have (because I am very particular or rather I teach the proper way) and they benefited just the same. The students might be doing the same steps with the feet but if you give the focus in a different area they will, from my experience, pick up more of the correct foundation.

I can see how working on a set barre in the younger and lower level classes, but as a more advanced dancer, I got sooo bored with set barres. I am surprised that the response is overwhelmingly to set their barres for a period of time. I reuse combinations that I think they need to perfect, but certainly not a whole barre.

Maybe I should reconsider? I can see how the repition allows them to focus on different things each week. I just also worry about auto pilot too and boredom. Hmmm, something to think about.

missingcharmin wrote:

but as a more advanced dancer, I got sooo bored with set barres. I am surprised that the response is overwhelmingly to set their barres for a period of time. I reuse combinations that I think they need to perfect, but certainly not a whole barre.

Maybe I should reconsider? I can see how the repition allows them to focus on different things each week. I just also worry about auto pilot too and boredom. Hmmm, something to think about.

I personally feel that barre and certain other exercises are to teach and reinforce skills and technique rather than keep dancers entertained. I also think that it depends on your definition of what it means for an exercise or combination to be perfectly executed.

I, too, am surprised by all the set barres. Guess I'll be the first to say that my barre changes every class. I also use different music every time (within my 10-12 CDs that I have for ballet). The only ones who have a set barre are the 10 and under crowd. And it's only set for maybe 2 months before I change it. I never had set barres growing up, and I assume my students would get really bored if I did it.

Wow! I'm surprised that I'm in such a minority! In defense of a constantly changing class:

I don't use a set barre, because I think that being able to learn new patterns quickly is incredibly valuable. I look at it as improving my dancers' versatility and mental abilities as well as their physical technique.

I generally try to set a focus for each week (working through the feet, engaging core, using hands, using the head, etc) so that they really incorporate one concept throughout the class in addition to working on their basics. It's a different way of stressing technique than the set barre, but it seems to work well for my dancers. While I've danced plenty of set barres and I know you all are right in that they can be wonderful tools, I think that classes can also vary their patterns without necessarily sacrificing their technical work and give the added bonus of mental challenge.

I don't have a set barre. I teach middle school and I set the jazz warm-up but not the ballet barre. They think ballet is boring anyway but I try to add interest by changing the barre exercises and music. I like to keep them on their toes with picking up material. I teach the exercise then ask questions on what I just did to see if they picked it up, it not reteach and they do it with me. While we do most of the barre to classical music, sometimes I will give them a treat and we do barre to something they would like. If I feel that a certain exercise was not executed correctly then we do it again. Since most of my students have never had ballet, I teach a few exercises at a time and I have the kids watch each other. I have each barre execute the exercise(they have to try hard or they are embarrassed in front of their friends) and I try not to do more than about six exercises at the barre. We then move to center work and so on. I get my students every other day so we have ballet/modern day , jazz/hip-hop day and tap/dance theory day.

I generaly do a set barre and center for my BI thru BIV and change up combinations here and there to wake them up in class. When we get to evaluation time (March-May) We stick to set barre and center so they can each be properly evaluated.

I think how wither or not you use a set or how often you change it depends largely on the class you are teaching (age, technique level and frequency of attendance). With a class of students who come 3 or more times/week you can change of the barre more easily and more frequently then children who attend only once/week.

There are definitely benefits to learning new material and performing it each class, but even if you have a set barre you can still do this in the center in your final enchainment.

The benefits of repeating exercises for a certain amount of time is that it allows the student to focus on the technique of the movements, the muscle control etc. instead of the choreography of the exercise.