Sleek Technique: Sleek Barre Technique - Thoughts

Sleek Technique Sleek Barre Technique is a a ballet barre style workout led by Victoria Marr and Flik Swan.

The DVD Menu
Introduction
Tutorial
Warm Up
Ballet Barre 1
Ballet Barre 2
Ballet Barre 3
Cool Down
Credits

So before we begin, I will just say these types of workouts are always challenging for me and this barre workout was no different. I like that the DVD was broken down in such a way that you could digest the material in smaller segments.

There are three barre sessions on this DVD plus a warm up and a cool down. I added the warm up and cool down to each ballet barre class and did the workouts as three separate classes over the course of the week. The warm up features both Victoria and Flik but only Victoria is in the cool down segment. With warm up and cool down, each of the workouts clocked in just above 30 minutes in length.  All three ballet barre segment use a portable ballet barre, but they tell you that you can use a chair if you do not have one.

Ballet Barre 1 starts in the seated position with spine lengthening work. You move to lying series where in the prone position you do lower back and leg extensions. Standing  work consist of toe prance and pulses and then into a plies series. Other movement include a tendu flex and circle series,
plus derriere, heel beets, port de bras, and knee pulls with.arabesque line.

Ballet Barre 2 starts with a seated lying series and then moves into a series of heal changes.  The rest of the workout:  plie in second, tendu, parallel legs, attitudes and arabesque, battement tendu, thigh stretch/barre stretch, and large attitude tendu.

Ballet Barre 3 moves performed in this workout:
Floor sequence
   Hip glute, spine twist & stretch
   Feet point and flex
   High Pyramid heel walks
Standing sequence
    Plie series
    BattementTendu
    Turn out attitude
    Battement tendu bent series
    Toe raise series attitude
    Stretch Battement series

They give pointers throughout. For example, telling you not to grip the barre. I was gripping the barre. What I found most challenging were the transitions. They were quick.   I did not feel that we were doing an over abundance of reps. I loved the soundtrack and enjoyed working out to  the music in these sessions.  Most of the time, you are working to the beat of the music.

One other thing to note is they are facing away from you (you are looking at their backs)  for several instances in the workouts. They do this when they are working the other side. However, of course I did not do this. I just move to the other side of the barre.   During these times you are not exactly mirroring them.

Ballet Barre 1 - 3 & 3/4
Ballet Barre 2 - 4 & 1/4
Ballet Barre 3 - 3 & 3/4