Barre To A Different Beat: Why I Still Teach the Lotte Berk Method (and Why I Created Disco Barre™)

In a barre world rich with interpretation - some inspired, some diluted - there’s a quiet power in returning to the original method. The one that heals from the inside out, restores your nervous system and awakens a deeper kind of embodied power. No matter what kind of day I’ve had, this practice saves my mind, body, spirit and soul and I plan to teach it until I can’t. This is the method devised by German dancer, Lotte Berk, which I call The Barre Lineage. It’s the foundation of my practice, where my fitness journey began and what gave me the confidence to open my studio 6 years ago.

My Barre Beginnings

My love affair with Lotte Berk began in my late teens, doing VHS tapes in my living room. But I formally trained in barre 12 years ago under Vicki Anstey, the founder of Barreworks — the UK’s first boutique barre studio in Richmond. Vicki had studied a modernised version of Lotte Berk and shared with us an inspiring blend of that and newer methods from the US, such as Physique 57 and The New York City Ballet Workout. That training planted the seed for my own path.

Not long after, I launched Disco Barre™ in East London - a hybrid concept blending barre with the spirit of club culture, grounded in deep musicality and dance. At the time, almost nobody knew what barre was. I built a loyal following and press coverage without any social media or PR, just raw word-of-mouth and the uniqueness of the practice.

Lotte Berk, As It Was Intended

Eight years ago, I trained under Esther Fairfax, Lotte Berk’s daughter, who passed on the original method in its most potent, provocative form. This technique isn’t watered down. It’s fierce, fun, feminine, and functional — designed to unlock core power, pelvic awareness, erotic embodiment and resilience rooted within.

It’s nothing like the watered-down versions of barre you’ll often find now. This method has teeth. It’s biomechanically brilliant and realigns your inner rhythms.

Disco Barre™ - A Different Beat

While I teach the Lotte Berk Method in its original form, Disco Barre™ is my own evolving concept inspired by my lifelong obsession with music, club culture, and deep embodiment. I’ve refined and restructured it over time, incorporating even tougher strength work and more cardio, as well as the healing modalities, somatic awareness and techniques I’ve studied through my own journey as a seer and seeker.

It’s the class for people who love movement but don’t necessarily vibe with gym culture. It’s intense, musical, transcendent and inclusive. And the playlists BANG!

Barre Is My Forever

I get bored easily, but I’ve never once tired of this. From day one, I knew I’d found my thing. I never had imposter syndrome with barre - it’s lived in my body too long for that. This work is an extension of who I am.

And when I teach, I’m not performing. I’m just being. Barre isn’t a job. It’s the joy of getting paid to be my whole self - music-obsessed, energetically tuned in and constantly curious.

If you’ve only experienced the commercialised versions of barre, I invite you to explore its roots with The Barre Lineage. If you’re curious about the way music and movement can shift your frequency, come to Disco Barre™. And if you’re a teacher who moves differently and feels deeply, you can now train in both.

Let’s bring realness back to the barre.