The driving force behind BTB
Ilse de Bruyn started the Beyond the Barre dance academy in August 2021, right after the Covid19 pandemic lockdown lifted.
Starting off with only 1 class offered a week, Ilse quickly came to know the desire for more from the aspiring dancers joining her classes.
“I saw so much of my younger self in the eyes of the young girls standing before me, with big dreams of becoming dancers. I started getting to know the students and realized these dreams were only a point in the right direction of coming true, and I always have this saying that once you know better you have to do better. Knowing these were the careers they wanted to pursue I started making plans to align what we offered with what they needed.” – Ilse
The studio soon started offering more classes a week in order for aspiring dancers to get the necessary technique training they would require for a career in dance. They also upgraded their offerings through various workshops and courses to ensure the dancers were getting the best training to increase their chances of dancing in the industry one day.
“I always wanted to be a ballerina, and as a teen starting ballet that doesn’t really seem possible. I had a wonderful teacher, who taught me so much more than dance.”- Ilse
She went on to study Dance Education at the Tshwane University of Technology and graduated with multiple distinctions.
"My dream had always to dance professionally, but I let the world tell me NO too many times that I gave up. I now feel a great responsibility towards others with the same dream to protect that dream, and to help it along the steps towards success." - Ilse
After the Covid19 pandemic so many families were left without an income and ballet classes became even more of a luxury than before. So many dreams would have to be put on hold until the country survives the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic.
Beyond the Barre made sure to keep their fees as low as possible to allow more people would be able to send their children to class.
“The children needed this, they needed an outlet for all their big emotions, a space where they could be kids and not worry about the world’s craziness for a moment.”- Ilse.
Ilse de Bruyn and her team’s desire to bring affordable quality dance training to the West Rand drives the studio to grow not only in numbers but on offerings to best serve the dancers training at the Academy.