BARRE EXERCISE CLASSES IN EAST GRINSTEAD

Lotte Berk was the founder of the Lotte Berk® method of exercise. She was born in Cologne, Germany in 1913 and made her name as a modern ballet dancer. She had to flee Nazi Germany in the 1930s, as being Jewish, life was becoming dangerous for her, and she was banned from public performances.

 

In 1933 she came to London along with her husband (who luckily held a British passport), their baby daughter and nothing more than a suitcase. She joined the Ballet Rambert, and went on to dance in musicals, and at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and the Edinburgh Festival.

 

Lotte was forced to give up her dancing career in the 1950's following an accident on stage. Determined to keep her 'dancer's body', and with the help her oesteopath, she devised an exercise regime – a series of exercises which would strengthen the stomach muscles and protect the back, as well as working almost every muscle in the body. Lotte was convinced that every woman, no matter what age, could have the body of a dancer if she worked hard for it.

 

In 1959 she opened her small basement studio in London’s West End. Word spread about this wonderful, fun and highly effective form of exercise. Soon women were flocking to exercise on her carpet, including celebrities such as Britt Ekland and Joan Collins and later Yasmin Le Bon. She trained other teachers to pass the method on, and now the LotteBerk® method is taught throughout London, the UK, France, Italy, Denmark and Switzerland.

 

Lotte continued to supervise classes until she was in her 80's, always elegant, beautifully slim, toned and lithe, and never losing her wicked sense of humour. She died in 2003 at the age of 90.