Victoria’s Secret supermodels use ballet-inspired barre workout – where to find classes in Hong Kong and China

Demand increases in Hong Kong and China for barre workouts that combine dancers’ conditioning with Pilates and strength training for a strong and elegant physique as seen at the recent Victoria’s Secret show in Shanghai

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MYbarre founders Siri Nordheim (left) and Ann MacLellan (centre) with master trainer Alice de Bontridder (right). Nordheim and MacLellan launched MYbarre in spring 2017 in Shanghai. Photo: Mario Grey

Published: 7:15pm, 22 Nov 2017Updated: 7:32pm, 23 Nov 2017

More than 50 of fashion’s most sculpted bodies were on display at the first Victoria’s Secret show in China this week, held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Pudong, Shanghai. The show’s biggest draw, its models, have been working out to maintain their lean frames.

US model Martha Hunt (centre, multicoloured stockings) and fellow models at the end of the 2017 Victoria’s Secret show in Shanghai. Hunt uses ballet-style workouts to keep her body toned. Photo: AFP/Fred Dufour

Some of those Angels use ballet-inspired workouts to tone up, including Lily Aldridge, Martha Hunt and Stella Maxwell. They are among a growing number of global fitness enthusiasts who work out at the barre, a horizontal handrail used by ballerinas in training.

Barre workouts reimagine ballet warm-up moves for the masses, blending dancers’ conditioning with Pilates and strength training. The key to achieving the enviably elegant but strong ballerina’s physique is through many repetitions of tiny, isometric movements, where a muscle tenses without changing length. “Pulse”, “drop an inch” and “hold” are common phrases heard at barre class, where you work your muscles by doing a much higher number of reps, using only your body weight or light weights, within a small range of movement.

Developed by ballerina Lotte Berk in London to rehabilitate her own spine after an accident in the late 1950s, the workout soon developed a cult following, with the likes of Joan Collins rushing to her door to plié their way to longer, leaner bodies. In 1971, a former student of Berk’s took the workout to the United States, where it spread across the country, then around the world. Barre arrived in Hong Kong and China around a decade ago.

A move lifted straight from a ballet class, a tendu involves stretching your leg and foot out from the basic first position, where your legs are together and toes are turned out. Photo: Brian Chua

One of the first studios to run barre classes in China, boutique fitness space Z&B began offering barre-based workouts in 2010 in Shanghai. They currently teach MYbarre, a variation on the barre workout that co-owner Siri Nordheim, 29, developed with personal trainer and group fitness instructor Ann MacLellan, 37, earlier this year. Combining barre with functional fitness training, MYbarre promises a “unique and elegant quick-paced cardio and sculpting workout, high in energy and low in impact”.