Barre was created by the ballerina Lotte Berk in London in 1959. After injuring her back, Berk got the idea of combining her ballet barre routines with her rehabilitative therapy to form an exercise system. In 1959 she opened The Lotte Berk Studio in her West End basement.

Pilates is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named.