Making an At-Home Ballet Studio
It's great to be able to do a little "at home" ballet on days when you can't make it to class, when class is on recess, or just when you're feeling the need for some extra ballet-inspired movement between classes.
Most of us don't have the luxury of a full-sized home ballet studio. But with a little ingenuity, and some furniture rearranging, you can probably find an area in your home to set up your own mini ballet space. Here's my ballet space (shared with an elliptical machine and my husbands pull-ups contraption)!
Jana, from Ballerinas by Night, has a video from 10 years ago, giving a tour of her home-office/ballet-studio, that can give you some ideas:
More recently, she moved to a home where she was able to set up an impressive full-sized studio. (Lucky girl!) Here's a video of her doing an at-home class in that studio. (I'm so envious.)
So, if you want to get started, making a ballet space at home, here's the things you'll need:
- Space! (of course): You'll want an area that will allow you to move your legs around you, and to shift forward and back about a leg's length, so a space that's at least 4-feet wide and 6-feet long is about the minimum needed to accommodate a ballet barre routine.
- A Smooth Floor: Ideally, you'll want to do your ballet on a smooth floor that's not carpeted. Bonus points if the floor is not concrete slab, which can be fatiguing to stand on, and dangerous to jump on. If the only available space you have is carpeted, and you don't mind spending some cash, you can order a portable tap board (example here) for about $100 - $150. A cheaper alternative is to get a 4'x8' piece of finished plywood (either 1/2-3/4 inch thickness) from a hardware store, which costs about $65 (be aware that these panels are about 50-60 lbs.). If you're putting the plywood panel on a concrete floor, you can add "cush" by applying some strips of adhesive foam window seal to the bottom.
- A Ballet Barre: There's lots of options here... The back of a sturdy chair is just fine, if that's what you've got handy. The back of a sofa works too, if you've got the right furniture arrangement. Hand-railing in a hallway will work, as will window ledges and kitchen counters. If you want to invest in an actual ballet barre, you've got some choices:
- If space allows, you can install a fixed barre to an empty wall (example here). These cost about $100 - $200 depending on length (hunt around online to find good prices). As a cheaper DIY option, get some closet pole brackets (about $5 each) and a wooden closet pole (about $30) from your local hardware store.
- You can also buy a free-standing barre. There are many available at various prices: a few examples... Harlequin Studio Series ($259); GoFit Go Barre Ball ($150); VitaBarre Prodigy Series ($110); Costway Portable Barre ($70), to name a few. Be aware that cheaper barres may be more "rickety" and less stable. Really check out the reviewer comments before buying. In general, you want something with a bit of weight to it, because that's going to give you more stability.
You can also easily DIY a sturdy metal barre using pre-cut/pre-threaded galvanized pipe, and a few elbow- and T-fittings, from your local hardware store. The cost for all the parts will run a total of about $100 - $150, depending on whether you use 1/2-inch or 3/8-inch pipe (thicker pipe is more expensive). For instructions, check out the previous blog post on how to make a DIY Ballet Barre, featuring more good content from Ballerinas by Night. - Music and Follow-Along Videos: If you want to make up your own barre combinations, there's lots of ballet-class music available via Spotify and Apple Music these days (search for "ballet class music"). If you like to have CDs on hand Dance Class Music is my go-to vendor for ordering ballet CDs.
You can find the albums I've used in our class listed on the Music page of this website. The list includes links to where you can purchase or stream the albums.
Or, if you want to do a follow-along class, check out the options on the At Home page of this website. There, I've posted a selection of my favorite YouTube videos, featuring classes I think are good quality and manageable for our class participants. The list grows as I find new classes online, so check back from time-to-time for more options. The YouTube content providers who I think provide the most good videos are: - Katheryn Morgan (ballet barre and center classes at various levels)
- Ballet Misfit (ballet barre and center classes, mostly at beginner levels)
- Grand Art Ballet Dance Studio (ballet barre and center classes in various levels)
- Ballet Based Movement (ballet-inspired movement classes at beginner levels)
- Lazy Dancer Tips (ballet-style workouts, and barre/center classes at various levels)
- Everyday Ballet (ballet barre and center classes in various levels)
- Ballet for All (ballet barre and center classes in various levels)
- Ballet for Grownups (ballet barre and center classes in various levels)
- Dansique Fitness (ballet-style workouts at various levels)
- Nataliya Bondar-Shelest (ballet barre and center classes at various levels)
- A Mirror: I'm actually not a huge fan of using a mirror for ballet. I tend to get distracted watching myself, I become overly self-critical when using a mirror, and I prefer to just feel the movements and use proprioception to sense my body alignment. But if you'd like to use a mirror for ballet some options might be:
- Doing your ballet in front of a mirrored closet door.
- Installing a 3'x5' wardrobe mirror on a wall in your ballet space.
- Getting a portable full-length standing mirror
- Or (like I used to do as a kid) dance in front of a sliding glass door, at night (LOL!).