Fletcher Barre Workout

Hi, I'm Deborah Mendosa and we're going to do a bar work class today. So just to give you a little bit of background and information about my experience with the Fletcher bar work. Um, I began studying with Ron Fletcher in the mid nineties and he talked a lot about bringing the organization of the equipment work to a standing posture standing organization. And he always talked about even when you would discuss with Clara as he was opening his studio in La, that he wanted to go further with the work. He wanted to take it somewhere, he wanted to take it to vertical, he wanted to take it across the floor. And that was what really inspired some of his bar work that he did.

The other element was he was really out in the world teaching a lot. So after he was no longer in his studio, he taught in the workshop environment and a lot of times he was places he did not have equipment available to him to use. So he used what was available, which are a lot of times was a floor and perhaps a bar. And how could he get the expression of the reformer work of leg and foot work that pressing through space on the reformer and bring it to, like I said, the bar because that's what he had available. And that built the whole body of work that became the Fletcher bar work.

Um, so it wasn't pulling that from elements of dance that we use a lot of dance terminology when we're teaching because it's information we already know. Um, it's terminology that is already out there in the world that defines a lot of the movements that are similar to what we're doing. But the body of work was really about how do we take an expression of those [inaudible] principles and the experience we have on the equipment and take it into a movement standing experience and then ultimately moving it even across the floor. And that was the progression and the development of Ron Fletcher's bar work. So here we go. Alright, so nicely placed, making sure you're not too close to the bar. You have what you want.

A nice arm lengths distance away from your bar without locking into the elbows. And then go ahead and let's just bring the arms down to the sides just to begin and starting. We'll lift all 10 toes away from the floor, drawing the shoulder blades up as well and exhale, gliding them down the back as you lengthen the toes. And again, lifting Hello Irish. Two more times. Turning the palms to face forward. Stretching the hands nice and wide.

Inhale, reach and even more. Exhale pulling into fists and double breath. Traveling the arms up. Okay. And stretch and placing the hands to the bar.

Finding a plea, a folding hip, knee and ankle and length. The name tall, pressing to the right ball of the foot and progressing through the heel and the left. And here again [inaudible] keep going. Really feel the articulation at the ball of the foot, the stretch and the length in the front of the ankle. Last one. And now working the flection of the ankle, press into the heel, flexing the foot up and place it down and flex and lower. Again, feeling that articulation through the ankle joint and re alternating the movement. Press to the ball of the foot, press through the heel, flexing at the ankle and play. Sit down other side. Ooh.

Okay. And taking a plea and stretching again, plea and stretching. Good. So really watching as we find that flection at the ankle, it's not about how high you're picking the foot up, but it's really about feeling that length and that grounding through the back line of the leg so that you're progressing into the heel to find that fold at the ankle without creating tension through the hip or the front of the ankle. So keeping that nice length and organization and so working both feet, trying to find, so no. Shifting back for us in through the heels. Find that flex and lower down.

Reach into the heels. Pull up through the low belly and lower down. One more time and finding that flex rotate now in the hips, turning the legs out and pull the sit down. Take an employee eye opening from the hips, zipping up through that low belly. Feel that link all the way through the top of the head and plea and stretch. [inaudible].

Let's find that please. [inaudible] holding it here. Good. Wiggle those toes for a moment. Make sure you're still on those foot centers that you haven't shifted forward. All right. But nice and organized. And we'll take a plea ea. Taking that deeper with a pulse and yeah, feeling that length through the spine.

The opening coming from the hips. Last set and stretching. Tall, harassing to the right ball of the foot, pressing through the heel and down flight. Relevate feel the weight into the balls of the feet. Rotate in the hips. Place in the heels and Liam parallel making sure the knees right out over this toes. Two more.

Yeah. And rotating to turnout. Yeah. Walk in heels open and finding a second position. [inaudible] and probably eye opening those hips and lengthen enough and again, stretch and [inaudible] Leah staying in that plea, a feeling that organization of the pelvis, deepening the player with a pulse.

Again, making sure that the weight is staying organized on the feet, not rolling forward through the arches. Two more sets. Last set. Hold it here. Open a little deeper. Zip up a little bit more and right arm. We'll lift up and place it down and low arm coming up.

Open it to the side and looking out over the hand up and place it down and lift to ope. Coming up and down again. Yeah, last time. And lower squeezing from the backs of the legs. Poe, full breath back to that plea. Ae. Yeah.

Yeah. And those hips warmed up, right. Working that rotation. Double breath going into now rotation with the spine as well. Right arm coming up. Lift, rotate and reach back to center and lower the arm again. Lift, turn and re center. I lower, keep it going up. Rotate, reach, lift and center and lengthening up.

[inaudible] both arms coming up, opening to the side and [inaudible] Lyft, plea a, place the hands again coming up. Oh Buddy. Now lift please. Hey, last time coming up and oh man, lift and low for an holding here. Yeah. Right arm coming up. [inaudible] side bend up and over holding that side.

Been linked in through the legs. Okay. And lifting to vertical. [inaudible] place in the hand please. Okay.

Taking that stretch up and out of the waistline. He be not stretches. You pull up to lengthen the legs deep and in the side. Bend. Lift to center the arm. And then one more time each side lifting. [inaudible] reaching up and lengthening deep in the bed.

[inaudible] [inaudible] and we a pulling up out of that please. Turning the feet back, walking them in to an open parallel position. Okay, please. [inaudible] and lengthen. [inaudible] good. Going into our Egyptian. We'll take a full breath full to Relevate. [inaudible] full breath to lower [inaudible] just finding that organization around the midline even though the feeder apart, adding the rotation. So lift, rotate and lower the heels. Lift, rotate and low are the heels.

This is a rotation of the pelvis to place the feet, one in Brighton, front of the other and back to the center. Keep going, lift, rotate the pelvis, reach through the heels, lift, rotate the pelvis, reach to the heels. Okay and adding onto it. We'll lift, rotate and stay in here. Really making sure that you feel the weight not too far onto your back leg, not too far onto the front leg, but centered great between the two. Trying to find the even pelvis as you cans or really pull that right hip back plea and stretch. We'll watch that tendency to want to lose the organization of the spine.

Pull in the belly through that length down through the sitz bones. One more. Ringing that right arm up. Rotate it open, sliding the other hand forward on the bar and plea a and stretching tall ple. Relevate a polling, straight-A and reaching through the heel. [inaudible] alternating plea, Yay. And Lincoln.

Relevant and low or plea and linkedin relevant and the lower. Shifting the weight onto the back leg, pointing through that front foot, going into a Rhonda Xom stirring leg in the hip. Reach it to the back, coming to that parallel position in the back. Keep that lift up out of the standing leg and circle it to the front and again, turning the leg in the hip region to the back. Yeah, really important to keep that organization on the standing leg and feel that opening of the hip as it comes to the back. Trying to hold on to the pelvis and the spine, adding on, reaching the leg to the back.

[inaudible] let's shift the weight onto that foot and back onto the standing leg. Rhonda Zhang Around [inaudible] shifting the weight and shift back and reach. Stir that leg in the hip. Shift the weight and shift back. Stirring the leg in the hip and shift and back.

Last time. Yeah, lower through that heel and pull up onto the standing leg. Reaching around and low or slide that foot slightly back so it's right in line with the other foot and bringing the arm up. Rotate the chest, turning it to face of our try and keep that opposite hip back. Feel that twist through the spine and lift and opening the arm. Look out over that hand. Let's do that again.

Lift and twist and lift and open the chest. Lift. Rotate the chest, lift and open the chest. Last time, rotating the chest to the bar. Relevate up. Twist the hips and center a [inaudible] just to center yourself here. [inaudible] uh, their side coming up, rotate and lower. Again, making sure your pelvis is centered between the two feet.

Lengthening up. Feel that rotation through the chest and plea and stir edge. Plea and stretch. Two more good. Holding the here, bringing that front arm up and open to the side and plea a and lengthen ple and lengthen. Relevate pulling straight up. Rejean pulling straight up. Try not to lower yourself as you reach the heels alternating.

Plea a and lengthen Relevate and oh, keep trying to maintain the evenness of the hips. Watch the tendency of one, let one hip come up as you lower the heels, keep them level coming up and low arrange. Shifting the weight onto the back leg. Point through that foot. Ron Duchamp stirring the leg in the hip. Keep pulled up on that standing leg as it reaches to the back and circle it around to the front. Stir the leg pulling up.

So really feel that articulation of the leg as it turns out and then opens into the hip as it comes to the back. Okay. And adding onto it, reach it to the back chair, shift your weight onto it and come up onto the standing leg. Reach it around, shifting the way and the length of the spine. One more reach. It keeps stretching all the way through the toe.

Then roll through that foot and shift and region to the front, rolling through the foot, sliding the foot back slightly so it's in line with your other foot and bringing the arm up, lifting the chest, rotate to face that bar and lift and open. Look out over that hand. Use that breath. Inhale to come up. Oh, put it out. Inhale and coming back to the bar and relevant, a up twist and low or turning out. Bringing the heels together and bleed and stretch back to parallel plea and lengthen.

Let's cross the right foot over the left and turn yourself all the way around so your back is facing the bar nice and wide. Feel that openness across the shoulders, hands, place wide on that bar and turning the legs out from the hips to work in the rotation legs. Still thinking of that same organization. We were just working in the Egyptian pattern of that length out of that standing leg. And we're gonna do posses four on the right and then four on the left. Here we go. And sure on the left up and play up and place back to the right on the left. Ah, adding on right leg comes to posse. Stepping out to the side, to a lunge, back to your posse and place it down.

Left side up. Stepping out again, up to the lunge. Coming up and center. Sure. And Center. Now taking that lunch to the front, right, like comes up, lunge to the front, up and center. Each time you come back feeling that organization through that standing leg. Yeah. And place. Let's lower the arms to the side. Okay.

Okay. Big Breath up. [inaudible] and up. Placing the hands to the bars. So taking now that forward lunch, really challenging our organization by stepping away from the bar. So the right leg will come up to passe. Step to our lunch.

Back leg comes up to passe. Step to the lunch, traveling back, coming up, reach to the line and up. Hands to the bar. Play. Sit down, left leg. Ah, lunge away up, stepping out, coming up. Reach to the lunge and up, back to the bar again. Passe up and line up and lunge. Pulling up. Reach to the back and up. Back to the bar. Last time coming up and up and launch. Coming back, pulling up.

Reach to the lunch. Coming up and place. Hands are only on the bar. Shoulders are down. Finding an extension through the upper back. Draw the shoulder lays down. Lift the sternum.

Think slide your hands out across the bar to open the chest even more. Lengthening up to vertical and again, glide in the hands wide. Feeling that opening across the chest and then laying thinning through the spine as you come up and opening. Good. Reaching and lifting. One more time.

Good. So now right like comes to pass a smaller lunch. Stepping forward, slide in the hand, keep them on the bar, slide them towards each other, drawing the shoulder blades together. Lift that sternum even higher. Pull yourself back to vertical and down other side. Reach. Stretching the arms back to that bar. Hold it there.

Pull it back and down again. Coming back. Lift and stretch. To that extent, lift and lower [inaudible] and stretch one more and stretch. Cross that left foot over the right and turning around to face your bar again. Full breath polling to Relevate. Zipping up through that low belly. Take it all the way out through the top of the head. Full breath, controlling the lower the heels down. Okay, let's take that again.

Pulling up through that midline of the body all the way out the crown of the head. Lowering that down. So working more with the extension of the spine. Coming up with your relevant. Lean in towards the bar. Draw those shoulder blades down. Lift the sternum, find extension through the upper back. Let's stay here for breath deep and that extension, pull back from that low belly lift low worrying the heels, plea a and stir a hatch.

Relevate pulling up. [inaudible] leaning your body to that bar. Finding that extension holding here for a really makes sure that you're not letting your knees and hips buckle to work. The extension but length and about of the knees lengthen out of the hips. That nice opening the hips. We are working even in the roundish arms.

Feel that here. Lift that sternum even higher, pulling back. Come up and low or relevant, coming to the bar. Shoulders down, lift, pulling back. Come up and low or pally a both arms reaching up. Stretch them out, turning the palms to face back. Chris, crossing the arms behind you. Keep that going. Feel that rolling open of the shoulders, that widening of the collarbone last set and reach out all the way up. Chris crosses overhead. [inaudible] trying to not let the arms drift forward but really pressing it up right along the sideline of the body.

Yeah, less set lift and lower. Crossing your left foot over your right. Turning around to face out. [inaudible] keeping the hands on the bar, rolling down through the spine to full breath and plea a and your Rach. Pull up through the relevant, up and low. And again, plea just like your Pike's on the chair.

Pull up from that low belly and low and again, plea a and linkedin feeling that lift from the low belly and low please. And stretch and lift. And hello. Rolling up through the spine to full breaths on a big breath up and harassing the arms down. Roll your shoulders, just the right shoulder and back. Stepping out.

Roll the right shoulder and back together and stepping out. Um, one more to each side. Oh, him back last time. Ah, fine. Not Midline again. Take a big breath up. One more big breath up and yes. Hate. Thank you guys.