INTRODUCTION
We had the opportunity to design a dance studio several years ago.  We began doing research on the best dance floors and dance accessories including mirrors, lighting, and ballet barres.  We learned that there is very little available in the marketplace for quality ballet barres that are dancer focused in the classic tradition.  By that, we mean ballet barres that serve the dancer to the best of their needs.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
When buying a ballet barre, you need to look for a strong stable bracket, most likely metal, and a solid wood barre.  The metal bracket should be attached to the wall with at least two deep screws (2” minimum) that anchors into a wood stud or concrete.  It should be able to hold a barre for at least 6’ in length.  The bracket ideally should wrap around the barre for maximum stability and have a lock tap to secure the barre so it does not move. We like the brackets that can hold two barres for maximum flexibility for the dancer.  The barre should be made of wood with a minimum diameter of 1-3/4” and a maximum diameter of 1-7/8”.  The wood should be a hard wood such as poplar, oak, Brazilian cherry, walnut, etc.  The wood barres should be a minimum length of 4’.

 WHAT TO BE CAREFUL OF
Be careful of ballet barres that have brackets spaced too close together.  They tend to be more expensive in the long run and create too many hard spots along the barre surface. Be careful of barres that are less than 1 3/4" in diameter as they are more likely to warp and break. Be careful of barres that must be drilled into with screws or other attachments as they are easily split if installed improperly or overloaded.
Finally, be careful of brackets that are not angled down away from the bar.  It would be easy for a dancer to injure a foot by slamming a heel onto a horizontal bracket section. Be careful of claims of "free or reduced shipping" as ballet barres are heavy and cumbersome to package and ship, thus product quality will most likely be lower. Be careful of claims of adjustable brackets.  Make sure any adjustable bracket you purchase is strongly made and can adjust easily.  We found very few people who actually adjusted them.  Like everything else, flexibility is a great sales tool, but it is rarely used. Most of the metal and adjustable brackets we've found squeak or make too much noise when in use.

WHAT NOT TO USE
Do not use handrails as ballet barres.  They are too small in diameter, can easily break and may not support the dancer. Do not use metal barres.  It is o.k. for the brackets to be metal, but the barres need to be wood.  Mostly this is for the dancer’s comfort.  Metal barres are cold and transfer jarring cold to the dancer.  Temperature control is extremely important for a dancer. Do not use shelf rods or curtain rods for ballet barres.  That is not their intended purpose and could potentially harm a dancer. Do not use shelf brackets or any other brackets not designed for ballet barres.  Many need to be spaced too close to be useful and might fail causing potential injury to a dancer.

 WHERE TO PURCHASE
Although there are many fine suppliers, we believe we have the best ballet barres and brackets available at BartzPeterson:

Dad's Best Ballet Barres & Brackets

FINAL NOTES 
Our children are both in professional dance training including ballet instruction from teachers trained at both ABT and New York City Ballet.  We have seen a lot of national studios and many ballet barre installations.  We have been unhappy with most installations, thus we decided to sell these barres we designed ourselves.   Ballet barres should only be used under trained, guided expertise.  Please make sure your dancer is well trained and has been educated by a certified dance professional on the proper use of ballet barres. This only a guide, not a professional opinion.  Please use with care. We accept no responsibility for the purchasing, installation, or use of ballet barres or brackets.

Copyright 2008 BartzPeterson All Rights Reserved