Sophie always regretted not pursuing a career in dance after studying it at college, and instead found herself in the advertising industry for 10 years working at DDB London, one of the UK’s greatest agencies.

After becoming a single mother, she decided to retrain as a Pilates teacher and whilst believing in the benefits, she didn’t feel creatively fulfilled. Sophie had practiced The Lotte Berk Technique since her teens, having discovered a VHS of it at a car-boot sale. She loved how it combined elements of contemporary dance with sexy fitness moves. When she discovered ‘barre’ at Barreworks (the UK’s first boutique barre studio) in Richmond, which had its roots in Lotte, Sophie got in touch, trained with them and earned her stripes teaching there for 2 years.

Sophie had found her calling. She forged her own style and created Disco Barre™, taking influence from Lotte Berk and her own dance training and mixed it with her passion for house music and disco and the underground warehouse party scene in East London. The idea started as a pre party detox or party alternative. Originally only on a Friday night at Barbers Gym, Dalston. They made the coolest barres out of scaffolding and despite receiving a fair bit of press, it was proper underground. Hardly anyone in East London had heard of barre workouts, so it was very rewarding to introduce the burn to a new audience.

Just before opening Disco Barre™ Studio at The Factory, Sophie trained in the original version of The Lotte Berk Technique with Esther Fairfax, Lotte’s daughter and is now the UK Master Trainer.

Amanda studied Dance at the Urdang Academy, Covent Garden and started a career as a professional dancer travelling all over Europe working with artists on tour such as Jay Z and West Life and on television shows such as The X Factor. .

She accidentally fell into the fashion and retail industry and became a creative manager but really missed performing and movement, so decided to retrain in Reformer Pilates. She was then introduced to Sophie, who knew straight away she needed to train her in Disco Barre™.

Amanda is a true Disco Queen with a warm heart and an even warmer smile. Her classes are inclusive, full of soul and good vibes and very challenging.

“Meeting Sophie and having her introduce me to the magical world of Disco Barre™ has truly been the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. Now I am Studio Manager I hope to help the Disco Barre™ community grow. There is just no other technique like it out there”.