Free-standing or wall-mounted?
One of the first decisions ballet studio owners face when setting up their space is whether to mount their barre on the wall or to use free-standing barres instead. If you opt for wall mounted barres, you will likely end up getting free-standing barres eventually anyway due to their many advantages.
Space optimization
Wall mounted barres are of course limited to the wall space available, whereas free-standing barres can be spaced across the entire floor. Free-standing barres also allow you to have students on either side, meaning that an eight foot free-standing barre can fit the same number of students as sixteen feet of wall mounted barre. Free-standing barres have the clear advantage when it comes to space optimization.
Mirror Logistics
Another advantage to free-standing barres is that they can be placed in the center of the floor. With wall mounted barres, the mirrors must extend all the way to the wall and be free of obstructions in order for students to make use of them while at a barre running perpendicular to the wall. This can be a challenge, as that corner is often where you want to put the piano or the speakers. Free-standing barres in the center of the room allow you to place a piano or speaker in the corner without obstructing the student's view of the mirror.
Portability
When initially considering purchasing barres, of course you have your studio in mind. If you are ever planning to have a student recital though, you will likely end up wanting to have a barre warm up in a theater space at some point, and there won't be any wall mounted barres on the stage. You will then be glad to have invested in portable free-standing barres that you can take with you to the recital.
Conclusion
Portable free-standing barres have a lot of advantages over their wall-mounted counterparts. They allow use of the entire floor, rather than just the wall. They double the effective capacity per foot of barre by allowing students on either side. They allow an unobstructed view of the mirror in the center of the floor, and they can be brought to recitals, or other events outside of your regular studio space.
To outfit your studio with the strongest portable free-standing ballet barres on the market, contact us at Boss Ballet Barres.
