Studio Barre

Tay was born in warwick, ri but feels her true home is the coastal town of newport. after attending salve regina university for elementary/special education she hasn’t been able to completely shake the island life. she enjoys indulging in a good read, wearing sandals in the winter, and organizing… everything and anything! she juggles many roles along with her “barreista” duties: teaching in an elementary school, nannying, and is progressively studying for her certification in essential oil aromatherapy. due to her dance background she decided to give studio barre a try and is proud to say she never looked back. the physical and mental challenge of barre is grounding… making it easier for her to maintain a more balanced, healthy and productive lifestyle. tay believes that due to studio barre’s upbeat, encouraging, and incredibly close-knit community she is the happiest and most confident she has ever been. she wants everyone to feel as jazzy and beautiful as she does while sweat-sparkling in some kickass active wear at the barre!

 

Born and raised in Bristol, Carmen loves living right by the water. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2017 with a bachelors in Human Development and Family Studies. Carmen always knew she wanted to work with children but was not sure in what capacity. After working at an after school program she soon decided to pursue a Masters in the Art of Teaching at RIC, and hopes to teach elementary education when she graduates. Carmen has always been active, however, she has never felt as challenged as she is when taking a barre class. The rewarding feeling after taking class, as well as the warm and welcoming community is what hooked her. She believes nothing is better than being challenged with such a motivating and humble group surrounding her.

Introducing the beautiful, Madelyn beck! madelyn has been taking classes with us since may of 2015 and loved it so much that she decided to begin barre{tending} in February 2018! born and raised in Newport, Maddie earned her bachelors degree in anthropolgy from Rhode Island college. maddie grew up dancing hip hop, played volleyball, ran cross country and is a former zumba instructor. it’s no wonder she is a perfect fit for our team. when she isn’t at the barre she enjoys traveling the world. Come take one or her classes and ask her about her journeys to South America, the Caribbean, Europe and her upcoming trip to Egypt!

Sydney grew up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts and moved to Newport three years ago to attend Salve Regina University. She is a european history major and philosophy minor. After playing volleyball and ultimate frisbee in high school, Sydney was looking for a way to stay active in Newport. She was introduced to barre by her roommate, Emma, who is a barretender at Studio Barre! Sydney instantly fell in love with the studio and the close knit community!

maura grew up in webster, massachusetts before moving to providence two years ago to begin working as a sales manager for the spring hill suites by marriott in west warwick. maura started dancing at age 3 with lmt dance academy in massachusetts. from there she continued her studies with the dancer’s sole (formally canty dance centre) and continued through high school being a member of the company competition team and captain of the tap company. after high school, while attending roger williams university, maura became a member of the dance team and dance club as a dancer and choreographer. transferring to worcester state university in massachusetts, she worked from her home studio teaching mostly hip-hop and tap classes. she is currently finishing up her studies at wsu towards a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management. while trying to constantly stay busy, maura found studio barre and immediately fell in love with the atmosphere and shake-tastic workouts!

rebecca grew up in fall river, ma and started studying classical ballet at the dance academy at the age of five where she discovered her love of dance and movement. while training there, she performed with the spindle city ballet for 8 seasons. she later attended the university of rhode island and obtained a bachelor of science in kinesiology. while at uri, rebecca completed a directed study at the university of hawaii at manoa, where she studied the use of exercise as medicine and the mind, body connection of exercise. that is where she found her true passion for not only health and wellness but for teaching others to love it as well. the fun-loving atmosphere at studio barre and the challenge the workout gives to clients of any fitness level and ability really stood out to rebecca. it truly is the perfect place for anyone to fall in love with exercise!!

crystal grew up in rehoboth, ma. she began dancing at the age of 4 and continued through college. she has always had a passion for performance and fitness. in high school, competitive dance and cheerleading managed to keep her active mind grounded. at 16, she won a gold medal in dance aerobics at the junior olympics in the super dome in new orleans. shortly after, she discovered modern dance and fell in love. she then went to dean college to major in dance. it was there that she discovered theatre and became a member of both the theatre and dance companies as well as president of the national honor society. she graduated with an a.a. in dance pedagogy with a minor in music. directly after, she auditioned for alvin ailey and was accepted to spend the summer in nyc training with them. during that summer she felt more and more drawn to acting. continuing her studies at l.i.u. c.w. post, she received a b.f.a. in theatre. after touring with a show in europe, she collaborated with her friend and writer laura gerhieser to write a one-woman show, “unearthing lilth”. she performed and choreographed the show in ny and was invited to perform at the american theatre festival in maryland. she received an award for performance from the kennedy center. after taking a break from performance, she moved home from ny and is thrilled to have stumbled upon studio barre! she loves the healthy environment that it fosters and is so excited to reconnect with her body along with like minded individuals. she cannot wait to see where this part of the journey leads!

jen, a native of aquidneck island, currently resides in middletown. a 2016 cum laude graduate of rhode island college, she earned her bachelor’s in elementary education with a concentration in special education of students with mild/moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. jen is currently the life skills special education teacher at tiverton high school. you can also catch her serving tables at the red parrot downtown. jen took her first barre class in 2015 when her best friend, devyn, became a barretender. she was instantly hooked and has been an avid tucker ever since!

tanis spent most of her life in massachusetts before recently moving to the coast of rhode island. her early career was spent as an advertising manager for a pharmaceutical chain and a free lance writer before she became a full time stay at home mom to her four children. in 1995 she founded the celiac support group for children, inc. and subsequently camp celiac, the largest attended camp in the world dedicated to gluten-free children. tanis fell in love with barre after her business partner and daughter, kelsey, introduced her to it. completely amazed at how fast she saw results in her strength, posture and overall physique, she knew that becoming a studio barre owner was the next chapter in her life. when not at the barre, tanis can be found at the seashore, where her passion for sun, surf and fresh air is met. she values time spent with family, gardening and is an avid walker.

Born in attleboro, ma and now resides in newport, ri. she began ballet at the age of five. her intensive training began at festival ballet providence where she danced in the junior company. in high school, kelsey moved to torrington, ct to attend the nutmeg conservatory for the arts for her junior and senior year. upon graduating high school she moved to charlotte, nc where she danced professionally with the north carolina dance theatre. the following year she moved to princeton, nj to dance with the american reperatory ballet. while in princeton she taught a “cardioballet” class at the princeton ballet school. not long after, kelsey moved back home to narragansett to begin a career in teaching ballet and fitness. having done a wide variety of exercise classes kelsey never felt passionate about any of them until she found barre. after completing her first class she instantly knew the barre life was the life for her. kelsey loves knowing that she will always be challenged at studio barre whether it’s her first class or 300th class. she finds it very rewarding to be a studio barre owner and barre{tender}. seeing her clients improve in their form and technique makes her very happy. so, if you hear kelsey squealing in class you’ll know why!