Barre Methods
Types of Barre: The Major Methods Explained
There is no single "barre." The format has branched into dozens of branded methods, each with its own choreography, pacing, and personality. Understanding the major ones, and how they relate to one another, makes it far easier to choose a class or a teacher training that fits you.
Two layers, not one list
Before listing the methods, it helps to see the structure underneath them. The barre industry has two distinct layers. The first is the Method Layer: the branded systems below, each teaching a specific style of barre. The second is the Foundation Layer: the shared competence in safety, biomechanics, and scope of practice that every barre instructor needs regardless of which method they teach. The methods compete with one another. The foundation sits beneath all of them.
IBBFA does not compete with barre methods. IBBFA underwrites them.
Studio and franchise methods
These are the methods most people encounter as physical studios or franchise locations.
Pure Barre
The largest barre franchise in North America, founded in Birmingham, Michigan and now part of the Xponential Fitness portfolio. Pure Barre is known for small, isometric movements at the barre and a signature low-impact, high-repetition style, with class formats ranging from the classic technique to more cardio- and resistance-focused variations.
The Bar Method
Created by a former Lotte Berk Method instructor who, working with physical therapists, refined the original exercises to be safer for the joints. The Bar Method places strong emphasis on alignment, precise form, and therapeutic stretching, and is recognized for its structured, technique-driven classes.
Barre3
Founded in Portland, Oregon, Barre3 blends ballet barre work with yoga and Pilates and is built around a whole-body, balance-focused philosophy. It operates studios across North America and beyond, alongside a large online platform, and emphasizes working in a way that feels sustainable rather than punishing.
Physique 57
Launched in New York City after the original Lotte Berk Method studio closed, Physique 57 preserved and modernized that lineage. Its interval-based classes alternate intense muscle work with stretching, and the brand is often credited with helping spark the modern boutique barre boom.
Xtend Barre
Developed by a former professional dancer and Pilates instructor, Xtend Barre fuses Pilates and dance with traditional barre, producing a faster, more dance-forward class. It operates studios internationally alongside an online offering.
Certification and licensing methods
These methods are delivered primarily through instructor training and licensing, so you will more often see them taught inside gyms and independent studios than as standalone chains.
Bootybarre
A barre method combining Pilates, dance, and athletic conditioning, delivered through a global instructor certification program with thousands of trained instructors across more than 25 countries. Bootybarre is taught widely inside existing gyms and studios.
American Barre Technique (ABT)
A barre method delivered through a fully online, self-paced certification. ABT teaches a ballet-inspired, low-impact style and issues a course-completion certificate. Its training is entirely remote, which makes it accessible, though, unlike a proctored credential, completion is based on coursework rather than a live practical evaluation.
Other methods
Many additional methods exist, including Barre Above and Barre Intensity, which are delivered largely through instructor training, and The Dailey Method, an early studio brand. New methods continue to appear, which is exactly why a shared, method-agnostic standard matters.
How the methods connect
Every method above traces back, directly or indirectly, to the same origin: the Lotte Berk Method, the technique that brought ballet-barre conditioning to fitness studios. You can read that full story on the history of barre page. What separates the methods today is choreography, pacing, and brand, not the underlying physiology.
That shared physiology is why a single foundation credential can sit beneath all of them. A method certification trains you to deliver one brand's system. The IBBFA credential certifies that you understand the anatomy, biomechanics, and scope-of-practice principles that keep participants safe in any barre class, whichever method you teach. For most career-track instructors, the combination of a method certification and the IBBFA foundation credential is the standard.
One standard beneath every method
Whichever method you teach, the IBBFA credential is the foundation that employers verify and that travels with you across studios and styles.
New to barre? Start with What Is Barre? Verify any instructor's credential, regardless of method, at ibbfa.org/verify.