The High Barre Teacher Training Manual: The High Barre: Barre for the Performing Arts in Higher Education

Dr Jill Rose Jacobs is a Visiting Researcher at Sheffield Hallam University, Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre. Jill is currently serving as an advisor on the study Dancing & Dementia in collaboration with the University of Sheffield, Sheffcare, and Dancing for Health. Jill completed her doctoral programme at Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, having accepted a faculty award from the School of Arts, English, and Languages. Jill is recipient of ICURe, Creative Catalyst, NI Arts Creative Industries Seed Fund, South Yorkshire Innovation Program, and other awards. Prior to entering doctoral studies, Jill was a professor of dance in the Department of Performing Arts Professions, New York University (NYU). She holds a master’s degree from NYU in dance education and was awarded academic scholarships throughout her study. Her students are currently performers on Broadway and in musicals and operas across the country and abroad, and many are Barre instructors for leading fitness corporations. Prior to relocating to the United Kingdom, Jill was also a Group Fitness Instructor for Equinox, where she specialized in and launched Barre programmes. Jill has continued an active teaching practice in the United Kingdom, founding Barre in the region through her training of Barre teachers in the Lotte Berk Method. Jill’s doctoral thesis, The High Barre: An investigation of Barre for the performing arts in higher education, posits that Barre is a highly adaptable methodology that can be tailored to bolster higher education performing arts curricula. Her research further suggests the holistic nature of such programming will improve the trajectory for the performing artists wellbeing beyond their professional career. Jill’s research aims to expand applications for Barre methodology that features movement, music, and choreography that studies find are beneficial to participants in fostering physiological improvements and may even be beneficial in ageing brain health.