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Keocha LaFleur-Anders

Jul 29
Jillian Carter of Sidebarre

Sidebarre’s Founder on Representation in the Barre Industry and Building Community While Promoting Inclusivity

By Studio Spotlight, The Founders Series No Comments

When you visit Sidebarre’s website, three words will capture your attention from the jump – Strong. Active. Graceful. My conversation with Founder, Jillian Carter, embodied those three words and more.  Jillian reminded me that true visionaries still exist.

What do I mean by “true visionaries?” Visionaries are willing to get out of the box because they already know what they see is going to manifest. Visionaries who are prepared and positioned. Sounds just like barre, right? You come prepared and you get in position.  

Known for their popular Barre Cardio, Barre Classic and Barre Stretch classes, Sidebarre offers high-intensity, yet low-impact full-body workouts. The instructors are professionally trained but no dance experience is required to participate in classes. Sidebarre’s classes are fun and effective. They are truly for everyone!

I could have told Sidebarre’s story in my own words, but I’m just so fascinated by Jillian’s and I knew you would be too. Her passion, drive, and vision require that you hear her “why.”

 

Sidebarre founder Jillian

Source: instagram.com/sidebarredc

 

I’m curious, why barre? What led you to barre?

I am a classically trained ballerina. I think I might have started dance classes when I was five or six. Ballet has always been a part of my life more than it has not been a part of my life. Once I stopped dancing, went to college, and then graduated, I needed to figure out how to stay active. I tried to go to the gym, tried other various boutique fitness classes like spinning and Pilates for a little bit. It just wasn’t really my thing.

Someone suggested barre so I joined a boutique fitness studio and really enjoyed the workout. But every time I went there, I was the only Black girl. I grew up and danced with other Black ballerinas and didn’t see us represented in barre. I took a barre certification class which helped with the technicalities of the body and movement. Because of my past love of ballet dance, barre just flowed and Sidebarre was created.  

 

The Sidebarre team

Source: instagram.com/sidebarredc

 

 

How did you come up with the name Sidebarre?

So, it’s funny you ask. I was at work one day and I mean, I’m very impulsive. I think about something and I immediately want to move on it like there’s no wasting time for me. My grandparents happened to be in town and so all of my cousins were over. I thought this is the perfect time to pitch the idea to them. And I was like, OK, now I just need a name. Any ideas? My cousin, he just blurted out Sidebarre. And that was the end of that.

 

I love that your family was included in selecting the name!

We’re a very small, very close family. 

 

What influences you to get out of the box? Sometimes as a visionary, it can be scary because you can see what others can’t see.

I think it’s the opposite for me. I feel like I’ve always positioned myself to be prepared for opportunities to come so that when they do come, I’m ready for it. All the partnerships and everything that we’ve had, I never reached out to them. They always came to us. And I felt like it’s because I always had the mindset of believing in Sidebarre’s mission. I’m passionate about it. I know that it’ll be as big as I want it to be.

You have to position yourself for that so that when it is your time, when it is your moment, you’re not caught up in trying to get all of your ducks in a row. You’re already ready and prepared for it. 

I’ve been that way since we started. There are times when we maybe had two people in our classes, but I always held classes to a certain standard. Then when we had those sold-out classes, it wasn’t like we needed to change anything to prepare for it because we were already preparing for it. 

The ladies of Sidebarre

Source: instagram.com/sidebarredc

 

It sounds like you don’t have to make many changes because you already had the people in place, on your team, to get things rolling. Who is on your team and what are their roles in Sidebarre?

Maya Dennis teaches cardio classes and she’s my Chief Data Officer.  She created a dashboard that provides analytics to tell me exactly what I need to know about our classes. If I ask her to give me analytics for a Sunday class held at 11am, compared to a Saturday class at 10am, she can do that.

Then we have Alexis Miller who is my cousin. I like to call her our Creative Director because she’s danced longer than all of us. She went to the University of the Arts for college to pursue dance. She has total creative direction where she has an idea and sees something that she thinks will be artistically beautiful. I want her to run with it.

I manage website creation, marketing, Instagram posting, recording, editing videos, and anything you can think of within the business. 

 

What do you feel like Sidebarre has brought to your community? What type of impact do you believe you’ve brought to the community?

I feel like health and wellness isn’t as big with Black women as it should be because we’re so busy helping everybody else that we rarely make time for ourselves. It might not be a workout class. It might be like a glass of wine with our girlfriends, which I would consider to be wellness too. So when it comes to community, I feel like Sidebarre and myself, like I have done my job.

If someone even shows up for class and gives it their all and breaks a sweat, the cherry on top is when they say they are coming back and bringing friends. They tell people about it. They want to interview us.  

Alexis has a company called Confi.DANCE. We, Sidebarre and Confi.DANCE, work with D.C. Parks and Recreation to teach ballet to the youth. We want them to have access to the arts. We didn’t see many Black ballerinas growing up. So, we are focused on serving underserved communities to make sure they have access to the arts. In those communities, where people might not have money for leotards and tights or even ballet classes, we offer them free of charge. We want them to see Black ballerinas. We want a little Black girl to know ballet is for her too. 

 

Sidebarre and Smirnoff Meet Me at the Barre Promotion on Zoom with Laverne Cox.

Sidebarre teamed up with Smirnoff for an experiential “Meet Me at the Bar(re)” virtual promotion, featuring a series of barre workouts and mixology classes hosted by notable celebs like Laverne Cox and Megan Rapinoe.

 

What do you want the barre community to know about Sidebarre? What do you want your community to know about Sidebarre?

We are here for Black women, as a lot of other companies might not be. We are here to strengthen our community. Whether we are talking about health, wellness, in conversations or all the above. For me personally, what keeps me going is our community. I think about it so frequently and realize that the reason why we are still Sidebarre DC is because of our community. So, if there’s anything that I’m proud of when it comes to Sidebarre, it’s our community because they are the reason that we are still here. 

 

Find out more about Sidebarre and Confi.DANCE as they continue to grow and thrive in the community they love!

Sidebarre’s website: https://www.sidebarredc.com/

Sidebarre’s IG: @sidebarredc

Confi.DANCE’s website: https://lexmilli.com/

Confi.DANCE’s IG: @confi.dance_dc

 

Want to know more about other black-owned barre businesses and influencers? You can read this.

 

About the Author

Keocha LaFleur-AndersKeocha LaFleur-Anders is a wife, mom of 5, writer, and a total foodie who moved from Baton Rouge, LA to Austin, TX almost 13 years ago. After 10 years of juggling football practices, family businesses, and corporate America, she decided to return to her first love which is writing. Keocha believes that her gift of writing is to be used to offer encouragement and motivation to women who need to hit their wellness reset button.  As a Certified Wellness Coach, Mind-Body Fitness Coach, and Barre Instructor, her mission is to be an inspiration for women to invest in their self-care and in each other.  You can learn more about Keocha by following her blog, Reset with K.

Aug 20
Inclusivity image

How Finding An Inclusive Barre Community Fueled My Passion for the Workout

By Barre Culture No Comments

At the height of COVID-19 and the quarantine orders, we were all adjusting to what quickly became the new normal. Social distancing meant no gyms, no trails, no sports, and simply no people outside of the home. I personally was never big on working out at the gym but now parks were even off limits.

We tried creating an at-home gym, but weights were super hard to find. My workout schedule went from 2-3 days a week to no days a week within a month. I knew I had to adopt some form of exercise as soon as possible or I wouldn’t do anything at all.

 

 

Students taking a Barre Above class.

Source: instagram.com/barreabove

Finding something that spoke to me

One day, I was invited to attend a virtual barre class and I accepted. I was a bit intimidated by the invitation at first because I had only seen lean, White women who had perfect posture at the barre represented in advertisements. Being a woman is the only thing I had in common with the women in those advertisements, so I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my jam. However, it was love at first plié. I was hooked! After 45 minutes of pulses and relevés, I was a sweaty mess, but my body and mind felt amazing.

My first experience with this movement masterpiece was so amazing that I became a certified barre instructor within two weeks after attending that class. Barre is movement at its best.

 

Taking my love of barre to the next level by getting certified

During my virtual barre certification course, it was eye-opening to see such a diverse group of people represented on the Zoom call. The mere fact that the desire to create diversity in barre was mentioned pulled me in even more. There were women from different races, age groups, and sizes represented. The diversity was refreshing.

We learned about the barre’s history and uniqueness before working out together. You could see the enthusiasm and excitement on each face to become a part of something fresh and new. Barre may have been around for a while, but it was all new to us. There was a sense of belonging, although we didn’t say one word to each other during the call. It was not only clear that becoming a part of the Barre Above family was the best decision for me, but it was also clear that becoming a part of the barre family was the best for me as well.

 

Barre Above students going through certification training.

Source: Instagram.com/barreabove

Why I appreciate the barre workout, its benefits and the community that is part of it

I appreciate the inclusivity of barre. Now that I am a member of the barre community, I’ve learned to love it even more. Of course, I appreciate the welcoming of inclusion regarding race and gender, but also within barre’s structure and its creation.

Barre’s benefits include strength in both mind and body. With the perfect fusion of ballet, yoga, Pilates and strength training, barre surpasses expectations by the end of class. The versatility in its movements makes it attractive to all fitness levels. Athletes, regardless of gender or sport, can participate in barre to enhance coordination and endurance. Fitness enthusiasts can embrace barre for core and glute burners. Fitness beginners or those with physical limitations can take advantage of effective, low-impact modifications. You can focus on full ranges of motion or half ranges of motion. You can use the barre during class or workout without one in the center of the floor.

Whether the barre class lasts 30 or 45 minutes, the shakes, pulses and lifts will keep you on your toes. Literally. As an instructor, you can instruct to the beat or free flow it. You can keep the class low-impact or add cardio bursts. No box and no limits. This exercise is truly for everyone and everyone belongs.

 

About the Author

Keocha LaFleur-Anders is a wife, mom of 5, writer, and a total foodie who moved from Baton Rouge, LA to Austin, TX almost 13 years ago. After 10 years of juggling football practices, family businesses, and corporate America, she decided to return to her first love which is writing. Keocha believes that her gift of writing is to be used to offer encouragement and motivation to women who need to hit their wellness reset button.  As a Certified Wellness Coach, Mind-Body Fitness Coach, and Barre Instructor, her mission is to be an inspiration for women to invest in their self-care and in each other.  You can learn more about Keocha by following her blog, Reset with K.
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