The Barre à terre is a body exercise system invented by the Russian dancer of French descent Boris Kniaseff in the 1950s. He began to invent this system when he found himself in a dance room without a ballet barre, and the way he found to stay in shape was to create a ballet lesson … on the floor. They are essentially choreographed exercises applied to the ground. Harmonic movements combine the technique of ballet with the creative expression of the body giving strength to the feet and torso, elongation of muscles and improvement of coordination. Finally it unlocks joints and fully exercises the body giving suppleness and wellness.
Dance Days Chania Workshop
Ballet is an excellent exercise system and at the same time a high form of art. The seminars are aimed at students of classical and modern dance with previous ballet knowledge, professional dancers, teachers and dance students who want to deepen their knowledge and broaden their technique. My experience as a professional dancer has given me the opportunity to work with remarkable teachers, choreographers and dancers. That’s why though my lesson is based on the Vaganova system, at the same time has many influences and elements from other dance techniques such as Balanchine and Forsythe.
My name is Maria Boumpouli and I was born in Larissa, Greece. I started studying ballet at the Municipal Ballet School of Larissa under Gesh Mihov. While still a student I participated in numerous ballet competitions achieving my first recognitions: 1st Prize at the Eurovision Dance Contest in Athens in 1999, Finalist at the Eurovision Grand Prix for young dancers in Lyon and a Gold medal at the Mia Arbatova Mediterranean Ballet Competition in Tel Aviv in 2000. At the age of 18, I continued my studies in Stuttgart at the John-Cranko School Academy. My professional career started at the Opera of Stuttgart, followed by the Dresden Opera House and finally the Berlin State Opera where I´ve spent the past 12 years under Vladimir Malakhov and Nacho Duato. I was given the opportunity to participate in classical, neo-classical and contemporary productions and to collaborate with prestigious choreographers such as Vladimir Malakhov, Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian, Forshythe William, Ohad Naharin, Angelin Preljocaj, Itzik Galili, Shechter Hofesh, Patrice Bart etc. In the past few years I started teaching ballet. I`m glad I discovered what is for me a new way to live my life-long passion and share it with others.
