Pure Barre tip No. 1: Wear socks.
The national fitness studio opens its first Tucson location at Casas Adobes Plaza on Monday after a soft launch this weekend. Pure Barre, 7121 N. Oracle Road, is Tucson’s second fitness boutique to offer only barre classes, says Briana Acuña, who co-owns the studio with Vanessa Palestino.
Unlike its barefoot counterpart Barre3, which opened at La Encantada in May, Pure Barre classes require students to wear sticky socks for grip throughout the ballet-inspired workout.
Small, isometric movements work the whole body for 55 minutes.
“If you can hold onto a ballet barre, you can do it,” Acuña says of the low-impact workout.
Even with a similar studio down the road, Acuña thinks Tucson has enough interest to support multiple barre boutiques and says she knows Barre3 owner Kate Pedersen.
“I’ll go for anything that encourages people to have a healthy and fit lifestyle,” she says.
Acuña and Palestino, both in their late 20s and transplants to Tucson, met working at Lululemon Athletica at La Encantada.
Acuña discovered the workout two years ago at a Phoenix location.
They began plans to open the 1,445-square-foot studio in Tucson in January, joining more than 200 Pure Barre studios across the country.
The pre-opening today and Saturday will offer free classes, though Acuña suspects those are booked at this point.
A single class costs $23, and one month of unlimited classes costs $175. Until Monday, customers can purchase five weeks of unlimited classes for $99.
Giveaways, goodies from Whole Foods Market and Starbucks and trunk shows by Lululemon Athletica, Gunnibelle and Twentythreeten Shop will add to the pre-opening festivities this weekend.
