About Teaching Barre

Yes, a barre is required to properly and safely perform the moves, but it doesn’t have to be a permanently installed barre– all of our workouts can be done with a freestanding or portable barre. A portable barre actually benefits students as it forces them to use more core strength and encourages proper alignment.

Yes, however, you will be teaching a “Barre” class and you should be using the proper equipment. A ballet barre encourages safety and proper alignment, and some chairs are not a safe option.

Yes! We highly encourage cross-training. The skills developed by barre training are a great complement to other programs and vice-versa.

Yes, you can incorporate components of the Barre Certification program into your personal training with private clients. A lot of the exercises in the Barre Certification program are very beneficial, especially if you have clients with injuries.

Yes! Our Barre Certification program teaches low or no-impact techniques that are easily adjusted according to students’ individual capabilities. The average age of the students in our studios is 30-55 years– we have even had ladies in their 70s enjoying the class! We have taught this program to a number of happy seniors (men and women) ranging from 60-85 years of age.

Yes, barre training is safe for pregnant women, but the moves and techniques must be modified for safety and comfort. The Barre Level 1 program is a foundational course; we do not train you to teach pre-natal and post-natal women at this level. To safely teach pregnant women, you need an additional Prenatal Barre Certification, which can be completed after you have passed the Barre Level 1 Course. If you have an existing certification for teaching pregnant women, you can easily incorporate a majority of our barre program into a class using specific modifications that are provided in the training materials.

We recommend getting insurance through ACE (the American Council of Exercise)—to learn about current options, please visit their website: http://www.acefitness.org/insurancecenter/. If you are located outside the U.S. and need help finding insurance, please contact us and we will try to help you find options for your location.

To become IBBFA-Certified, you need a fitness background or work experience, and must have a current teaching certification in group fitness, yoga, Pilates, or something equivalent. If you do not have any of these requirements, you may take the Barre Essentials Course as a prerequisite (Included in the Gold Package). Upon completion of the course with a 70% or higher you may continue with the Barre Level 1 Certification program.

Yes. You do not need to be currently employed to get certified, and once certified, you can teach anywhere you choose—at a studio, gym, clients’ homes, etc.

As long as you have a current IBBFA Certification, you can teach anywhere—we do not require a licensing fee. You can teach at a gym, private studio or as a private instructor. As an independent contractor, you can teach anywhere you want. If you are an employee of a private studio or gym, make sure your contract includes wording that you are an IBBFA-Certified Barre Instructor, and that you are the only one certified to teach barre– this usually is not a problem. The only difference between teaching as an independent contractor and an employee is that for employees, the gym or the studio is the one that pays for the certification, so they may only allow you to teach those classes at that specific location.

We have never had a problem with Barre Certification being accepted in a facility—most owners come to us because they want to offer barre training at their facility and need qualified instructors. But it is always ultimately up to the discretion of the gym or studio that would be offering the classes whether to accept the certification. If you are unsure whether a particular facility will accept the certification, we recommend you speak with the owner about the program and determine whether it is a good fit for them before you sign up.

As soon as you receive notification that you have passed your final evaluation, you can start teaching immediately. We will email you a copy of your evaluation as soon as it has been graded, and you will receive a copy of your evaluation and your printed certificate by mail within 1-2 weeks of completion.

No, Barre Level 1 is a foundational course and we do not specifically train you to teach pre-natal and post-natal women at this level. To safely teach pregnant women, you need an additional Prenatal Barre Certification, which can be completed after you have passed the Barre Level 1 Course. If you have an existing certification for teaching pregnant women, you can easily incorporate a majority of our barre program into a class using specific modifications that are provided in the training materials.

No. Only Master-Level Barre Certified Instructors are permitted to teach IBBFA Barre Courses—additional knowledge and training is needed to train other instructors. If you are interested in becoming a Master-Level Barre Certified Instructor, please let us know after you earn your Barre Level 1 Certification and we will outline the process for you.

YES! We offer several additional advanced-level certifications for IBBFA-Certified instructors. We currently offer Barre Essentials, Barre Level 1, Barre Level 2, Barre Level 3, Stretch & Tone, Pre & Post-Natal Barre Certifications. Master Level Certification is currently available to a limited number of Trainees and will be available to everyone shortly.

The program includes approximately 35 (Essentials: 8hrs & Barre Fundamentals: 27hrs) hours of instruction and can be completed in as little as 2-4 weeks. It is a self-paced, online self-study program, designed to fit your needs and schedule. After purchasing the Gold package you will have 6 months to complete the program. An account extension of $9.94 per month will be automatically applied to your account if you need more time to complete the certification process or would like to maintain access to the course materials. This subscription can be cancelled at any time..

The program is completely online and available to anyone around the world. All you have to do is enroll and activate your account via email, and you’re ready to begin. Unlike other online programs, you will have access to the instructional materials immediately. As you complete each module, the next module’s materials will become available to you. The course work review at the end of each module are not graded—they are a way to review the material you just learned to make sure you understand the concepts covered, and help you prepare for the final exam.

The Final Written Exam is located in the last module. Once you have received a passing grade of 80% or better on the Final Written Exam, you are free to work on the Practical Exam. For the Practical Exam, you will submit a video showcasing the skills you have learned throughout your training for evaluation by our Master Instructors.

Once you have successfully completed the Practical Exam and received a passing evaluation, you will receive your certification, and are now able to teach Barre to your community.

No, but you can easily print the materials from your home as needed. Because we are continuously updating the program materials, all materials are digital files that can be viewed or downloaded online. You are free to print the instructional manual yourself if you wish.

All certification levels include unlimited online support in our members-only community and through phone/email support. One-on-one help by phone, email and Facebook group is provided from registration and beyond. Skype support is available with our upgraded certification options. If you want feedback on your technique before the video practical exam, you are welcome to submit video via the online community for us to review/critique. We are happy to help you every step of the way. Support does not end when the training ends! We value our instructors from around the world and make our individualized support the highest priority.

You can submit your Practical Exam video up to two times before there is a resubmission fee.  We also offer an option Skype test-out at $59/session (if you don't show up at agreed upon time, you forfeit the session fee and will need to purchase a new session)

The cost of the certification currently  $497 with optional upgrades at the time of your checkout. The program fee includes all program materials, access to support, processing, taxes and shipping of your completed documents.

Gold Program $497 USD:

• Barre Essentials course  (optional, needs to be completed only if you have no previous teaching/training experience)
• Barre Level 1: Fundamentals of Barre Course 
• 6-months of access to all program study materials (instructional manual, videos and quizzes) – the materials for each module become available when you satisfactorily complete the previous module.
• Access to our members-only professional form, where you can ask questions, submit video for feedback and get support, BarreCast, and our helpful Blog.
• Inclusion in our official online Directory of IBBFA-Certified Instructors.
• Ready to teach class outlines
• Member ID Card
• BarreSlim pre-choreographed and branded classes, 8-week challenge for clients, practice videos and user guides
• BarreZen classes ( 2 sample classes, with video demonstrations and accompanying playlists)

If you do not finish your certification within the given timeframe, an account extension for $9.94 per month will automatically be applied to your account. You can opt out by either canceling it in your billing area or contacting us requesting the cancellation.

NOTE: If your account goes inactive and you wish to complete your certification at a later date, an account reactivation fee of $29 will be required ($29 for the first reactivated month and $9.95/month after that).

BarreZen classes may be purchased for small fee and gives you access to class outline,  videos, spotify playlist.

To keep your certification active, you can either purchase the Barre Level 1 Renewal Quiz for $59 that includes the current manual and a renewal quiz. The Renewal is good for two years. Or, if you would like to continue you Barre education, you can purchase and complete any one of the following Barre programs to renew your original Barre Level 1 Certification for an additional two years: Barre Level 2, Barre Level 3, Stretch & Tone, or Prenatal Barre.

We occasionally get requests to transfer packages to another instructor for any number of reasons.

If you have not yet completed the "(Ch 7 & Ch8) - Lower Body" you can transfer the course to another instructor.  We require a written request with the contact information of the instructor who wishes to receive the course on your behalf. The transfer fee is 50% of the current cost of the program. If the access to the account is currently expired, this fee is 75% of the current cost. Once the fee has been processed, the current account holder will lose all access to course materials and the new account owner will receive new access as well as a 6 month extension to the program from the date of payment.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.

We offer a RISK-FREE trial for 30 days or before completion of Unit 9  (written test), whichever comes first. So you can purchase with confidence knowing that if for any reason you decide the program is not for you, you will receive full refund.