So… despite the tragedy of center in my last class, I decided that I needed a barre at home. Why limit the hilarity of my attempts to dance to public displays of crazy when I could practice my completely laughable moves at home too!!! So Carboy & I hit the hardware store and came home with an armful of galvanized pipe and gas line.

What you see below is one 6-foot section of threaded galvanized pipe, two 3-foot sections of threaded gas line, four 6-inch threaded galvanized nipples, six elbows, and two Ts. Just make sure the diameters all match. We literally put the barre together in the aisle of the hardware store to ensure that all the sections fit. The lengths of the pipe also reflect a size that fits me and my space available for dancing in my dining room.

*Note: We discussed using PVC but decided that a small diameter would be too flexible and a large and more stiff diameter would be uncomfortable because I have small hands. We only used a mix of galvanized pipe and gas line because that was what was available in the sizes we needed at the Home Depot. The result is kinda cool looking because my barre is now silver and black in color.

This is actually super simple and once you have all the correct parts takes less than 20 minutes and all you need is a wrench to tighten up the attachments.

Okay, here goes… take four of the elbows and the four nipples and screw an elbow onto one end of each nipple. Like so…

Awesome. Take the 2 tees and screw a nipple into each side, like so…

Voila! These are the feet of the barre. Now to add the legs, take the 3ft (or whatever size works for your height) and screw them into the top of the T.

Easy peasy, almost done! Screw on the remaining elbows onto the 6ft length (or length of your choice) for the top or the actually barre part of the barre…

All that’s left is to screw the “barre” into the elbows on the legs and tighten up everything!

It’s a good idea to clean the whole thing because it’s bound to be dusty and/or a little greasy from the hardware store. But there you have it, your very own portable barre.

I have hardwood floors but if you don’t have a flooring that is conducive to dancing, may I suggest a trip to the remmant section of a flooring store, a nice little square of dancing floor can be had for super cheap!

Happy dancing!

I have to admit that these are words that are uttered, sputtered, and sometimes hollered out at least once a day. Why, you may ask… because I just never learn!!!

Things that I refuse to learn:

If you sit on one leg, it will go to sleep. When your leg goes all numb, it’s very unfortunate, but when the feeling starts to come back in that tingly electrocution sort of way, it’s VERY unpleasant! Every time.

Milk = lactose. Milk on cereal counts even if you don’t really drink it and it just acts as a suspension device for Cheerios. If you are lactose sensitive this will result in a lousy morning. Every time.

When the little thingy gas gauge in the car sits just above the needs fuel marker and you don’t worry about it because really there’s plenty of gas in there, you will get the NEED FUEL NOW signal from the car in the worst neighborhood possible, the one with the meth lab/dealership, international prostitute exchange ring, and the hostile and screaming homeless guy. Every time.

You stay calm through the stupidest traffic on the planet only to finally lose it complete with mouthing words, throwing down hand gestures, and making insane person faces, only to realize the driver that you’re taking it all out on is -> a nun, a rabbi, your bf’s grandmother, or your sister-in-law. Every time.

Wearing 4-in stilettos, slamming back a double espresso with a Diet Coke chaser for breakfast, and blasting arctic air conditioning in the car all the way to ballet class will result in foot cramps, stomach cramps, and all over immobilizing muscle cramps in basically every muscle in the human body. Every time.