Floor-Barre
Floor-Barre in Vienna
Ballet, from the floor: the barre without standing, the technique without the strain. The class ARTIS was the first in Vienna to teach outside a professional school.
Floor-Barre is a ballet class you take lying and sitting on a mat. Instead of standing at the barre, you perform the fundamental movements of classical ballet, pliés, tendus, battements and port de bras, horizontally, with the floor supporting the spine. Without the job of holding the body upright, you concentrate entirely on muscle engagement, coordination, turnout from the hips and the alignment of the spine.
Floor-Barre at ARTIS is the classical barre itself, taken to the floor — the barre au sol that professional dancers have always used to build line and strength off their feet. ARTIS was the first studio in Vienna to teach it outside professional training, and it is taught here to the same standard either way: for a dancer preparing an audition and for someone who simply wants to move well. It runs twice a week in a group of at most eight, for complete beginners and for dancers who have been on stage for twenty years, and it is half of Ballet Zero, the course for absolute beginners.
Who Floor-Barre is for
- Absolute beginners, who learn what ballet asks of the body before they have to balance on it.
- Anyone with a sensitive back, knees or hips: there is no impact, no load and full control of the range of movement.
- Adults over fifty, and anyone returning after a break, an injury or a pregnancy.
- Office workers who want posture, core strength and mobility without a fitness class.
- Trained dancers, as technique work, as recovery, or as a warm-up before class.
What happens in the hour
Warm-up on the back: breathing, the position of the pelvis, feet articulating through demi-pointe and pointe. Then the barre, on the floor: pliés and tendus with the legs in turnout, ronds de jambe, battements, développés, work for the arms and upper back. A long stretch to finish while the muscles are warm. Leggings, a fitted top and socks are all you need; there are no shoes.
Floor-Barre and the other ARTIS classes
Floor-Barre is part of both beginners’ memberships, Ballet Zero and Ballet Set Light, and anyone can book it on its own first, before deciding on a membership. Its sister classes are Ballerina Workout, which adds athletic conditioning on the mat, and Ballet Stretching, which adds length.
- Floor-Barre: Tuesday at 19:15 and Thursday at 18:00, 60 minutes
