MEET BARRIE ROBERTSON

Barrie has been a professional ballet dancer, movement educator, and director of movement programs for over 35 years. He has coached numerous students internationally and taught masterclasses and workshops focused on the Pilates method in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore.

His journey began with professional dance training at the Victorian College of the Arts before moving to The Australian Ballet School in his early teens. He was immersed in rigorous full-time training that included a wide range of dance forms, kinetic studies, and anatomy. He was fortunate to receive coaching and mentorship from luminaries such as Dame Margaret Scott, Dame Peggy van Praagh, and the late great Rudolf Nureyev.

During his professional years as a ballet dancer, he traveled internationally with various companies and served as a contracted artist with The Queensland Ballet. He diversified his performance schedule by exploring other dance styles beyond classical ballet and musical theatre, which furthered his experience with choreographic projects and masterclasses. He then transitioned into elite ballet coaching, most notably for the Sydney Dance Company's Adult Class Program, as Head of Dance for the School of Performing Arts at St Michael's Collegiate in Tasmania, and through guest teaching and training assessments with Tasdance, Natanda dance companies, and La Salle College of the Arts in Singapore.

Throughout this eclectic mix of experiences, Barrie became fascinated with the applied science of biomechanical function and bodily kinetic integrity. After managing the Covent Garden Pineapple Dance Studios in London, he returned to Australia in 1999 to undertake concentrated training as a Pilates instructor. This led to a new career pathway focused on alternative movement and intellectual stimulation. He soon began managing Pilates studios, supervising Pilates education, and developing his own methods of movement.

Barrie traveled to the United Kingdom for more extensive training in the Pilates method and trained in clinical Pilates at Camden Medical Centre in Singapore, specializing in injury prevention, rehabilitation, and post-partum Pilates with a strong focus on the use of the Reformer Pilates apparatus. From 2004, he operated a Pilates studio and online practice in Singapore. He returned to Australia in 2023 to continue consulting in the Pilates field.