South Africa

When I say that bootybarre changed my life, I am really not exaggerating! Tracey came to South Africa to teach the course in 2011. I am not sure really what drew me to that specific course, I have been sporty all my life but never a dancer. Maybe the fact that my mother was RAD trained and had been a dancer all her life had something to do with it.

I had been a high school teacher up until 2005, teaching Physical education, English and geography to high school students. I loved being a teacher but in SA at the time, teachers were paid terribly and as a single woman, I really wasn’t surviving on that salary. For the next 5 years, I rented space in gyms and Pilates studios and built up a loyal client base. Enter Tracey and bootybarre! I loved the course as I was stiff in all the right places. I loved the music and the choreography……and the burn and the sweat!

After qualification, I was also renting a dance studio to practice and teach my clients – sometimes to only 1 person in the class (we are quite slow to pick up on new trends in SA) For some reason, I didn’t care. I just loved it and loved teaching it. This was all the inspiration I needed to open a place where you could do Pilates, Personal training AND bootybarre in one place. And so……..The Body Workshop my studio was born!

I opened in Feb 2012 and in a little over 2 years, it has grown every month and due to bootybarre. It started small, with 3, 4 sometimes 5 in a class but now quite a few of the classes(now 9 per week) have to run on a waiting list. This growth has also inspired me in all other aspects of my training. My clients are completely smitten. The loyal ones that have seen me through the process and the newer ones that are now also part of the family. The changes they have seen in their bodies, is just the icing on the cake. Thank you for the awesome programme, the ongoing education and most of all ……..for the inspiration. I am unbelievably grateful!