Studio Name: Studio Three
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Cost per single class: 25 NZD, new student intro is 49 NZD for two weeks of unlimited classes.
About the Studio
Studio Three is located in a trendy and artsy area West of the Auckland City Center and easily accessible by bus. The studio is bright and open with large windows overlooking the street and vegetation. The owner, Viv Gallagher, and teacher, Maria, were very friendly, helpful, and welcoming; as I found most New Zealanders. Studio Three also offers Pilates, yoga, and wellness classes. It was once affiliated with Xtend Barre but is now its own entity.
About the Workout
The barre class I took was packed on a sunny weekday evening. We started class away from the barre with a warm-up that involved a lot of leg work in second position plié while we held and periodically squeezed the barre ball. I could already feel the burn! Maria directed most of the class with verbal cues as we moved from arm exercises in the center to push-ups on the barre. The push-up series was very challenging and I felt it in my triceps the next day. Once at the barre, we stayed there and moved into a great leg sequence with many pliés, pulses, gluteus and abductor work. Legs ended with a grand finale of ball between the thighs chair. Phew!
We finished with abdominals on the ground and focused mainly on the C curve of the transverse. Since I am all about abdominal exercise, I did leave wanting more of a burn in that section. Overall, my whole body was shaking and feeling the happy barre burn throughout the entire class.
Maira’s class was upbeat as her music choices maintained a 125 BPM. I got a great barre workout and left with a smile! Luckily, I was able to meet the owner, Viv, and fit in a short interview.
Describe your journey to barre
I first heard about barre while living in Dubai. When I returned to New Zealand and opened my own Pilates studio in 2013 I was excited to introduce barre to Auckland. I originally trained in Xtend Barre and my team are all mainly Xtend Barre trained. We have moved away from being Xtend Barre and branded in the past 12 months as I wanted the freedom to branch out and create a wider range of classes which fused barre with other classes such as TRX and Reformer Pilates; which we have now done.
What do you tell people who ask, “Why should I do barre?”
It ticks a bunch of boxes in one class: strength, posture, core, cardio, flexibility all in a 55-minute full body and fun workout!
How has barre shaped your life?
At 55 years old it’s given me a stronger, fitter and leaner body than I had at 35 years! It’s totally addictive and it’s fun which is the only way something is sustainable.
What do you see for the future of barre?
I have seen barre grow very rapidly in New Zealand since introducing these classes that no one had ever heard of in 2013. There is much more awareness around what it is now and many gyms and Pilates studios have added classes. However, there is a huge variation in standard and training so I advise clients to check out the credibility and training of the instructors first. I think barre has a strong future in New Zealand but I think it will never be as mainstream as Yoga or Pilates which is why it’s been important for me to offer a variety of classes. Our population is too small to sustain studios that only offer barre.
About the Author
Joanna Stone (aka Jo) is a barre and yoga instructor, dancer, personal trainer, and avid traveller. Joanna had been teaching barre for over five years when she created Barre Vida because she wanted to create a new barre method and barre instructor certification course open to all individuals. Barre Vida focuses on the alignment principles in the barre workout, injury prevention, and strength. You can catch Joanna biking from class to class all over New York City. She really is a somatic nerd!
You can check out Joanna’s other review of Inspire Yoga Studio here.
