The first barre workout: pt2
During the late 60´s, an American by the name of Lydia Bach was in London and decided to attend a Lotte Berk class. Lydia was so taken by the workout that she became a devotee of the method. But unlike other practitioners who were happy enough to split their tights from time to time in Lotte Berk´s basement, Lydia wanted more. She purchased the international rights to Lotte´s practice and in 1971 she established her own studio in Manhattan and started the Lotte Berk Method.
… and I thought touching my toes was difficult!
Now let me try
But no story would be complete without a twist. After many years of Lydia Bach running the Lotte Berk Method and licencing the name to others, a number of teachers and practitioners began to splinter off and form their own methods. Now depending on who´s telling the story, the parting of ways was either amicable or a full blown “plates being thrown at people´s heads” type of break up.
So now-a-days we have The Barre Method and Core Fushion both of which were created by former affiliates of the Lotte Berk Method. Then there are also a whole string of other workouts that quote the Lotte Berk Method as their source of inspiration. Pure Barre, Barre3 and Body Fit, are to name just a few.
Who would have guessed that those early days in a London basement in 1959 would spawn today´s worldwide phenomenon?
Lotte Berk we salute you!