Directions on how to make your own ballet barre below!
I needed to make a ballet barre for home use! Not only so I could use it in my YouTube videos, but with the world in the state it is right now, I want to be able to come to the barre whenever I need to, whether I’m in quarantine again or not. As a dancer and teacher, I have to be actively training all the time! Having a beautiful barre at home makes that possible!
I also did not want a PVC ballet barre, or a galvanized pipe one. PVC is too flimsy and not stable, and the galvanized pipe is SUPER EXPENSIVE and the piping itself can be small and not feel great in your hand while holding on.
I decided with the help of my brilliant husband that a wooden barre with a wood dowel would be perfect! So we went for it! Wooden bases, legs, and dowel along with gorgeous shelving brackets to hold it all together!
The barre is PERFECT! It’s the exact right height for me, I’m 5’9, and super stable, I can do a full class on this barre, to include a barre stretch with no worries at all. Below are the materials and directions on how to exactly build this beautiful ballet barre at home for about $50!
How to Make a Ballet Barre: (will vary depending on your specific size needs)
Materials:
- 6 shelving brackets, any style.
(We but two different sizes at the bottom of the legs attaching to the bases, so we could avoid issues screwing into either side of the wood. So one small and one big on each leg)
- 1 ~4cm / 1 ½in thick Wooden dowel. 100cm/~40in
- 2 2x2in, 100cm/~40in long wooden posts (legs)
- 1 6cm x 4cm x 100cm / 2 ¼in x 1½in x ~40in Wooden base, cut in half (two bases)
- Enough screws for each hole in your 6 brackets. Depends on what type of brackets you use.
(we used 24 {5mm} screws total, each bracket had 4 holes. We used 4 slightly smaller screws going into the dowel, and 4 going into the posts where the bracket holes lined up on each other. The other 16 were longer for the best stability and support possible in the other brackets.)
- 4mm drill bit
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Can of white spray paint
- 1 sheet of sandpaper
Directions:
1. Sand down all of the wood pieces until they are smooth
2. Spray paint them white. We left the dowel a raw wood finish.
3. Measure the center points on both base pieces where the legs will be attached.
4. Place one of the legs in the marked center of the base, and place two of the brackets on either side of the standing leg.
5. Mark the wood pieces through the bracket holes with a pencil to know where to pre-drill.
6. Pre-drill marked holes on the leg and base.
7. Attach brackets to the leg and base, screwing in securely but be sure not to over tighten as it may split the wood.
8. REPEAT for the other leg and base.
9. To attach the dowel to both legs, begin by marking where to put each bracket along the leg, then pre-drill the marked holes (only on the legs) and screw in the brackets to the leg.
10. Hold the dowel on top of both leg brackets, mark where to pre-drill, then remove the dowel and pre-drill the holes.
11. Place the dowel back onto the brackets, with the bracket holes lined up with the pre-drilled holes in the dowel, and screw in securely.
12. ALL DONE!!!
Be sure to play the video over, and over, and over again to make sure you are doing it correctly! ;)
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below! And let me know what you think of this video! Be sure to give some love with a like on the video and subscribe for more ballet and dance related content!