Barre N9NE Studio

First class… thought Caroline was very helpful, patient and inspiring to keep you going. Looking forward to my next class! I’m looking forward to getting this body back in shape and I think this just might do it!

I’m not usually one to wrote reviews however I was in complete shock that anyone gave this place leas than 5 stars. Tanya and her staff are amazing and I had always received proper instruction along with individualized attention when needed/​out of form etc. I can understand feeling less than accepted as written because yes walking into a room full of females with killer bodies can be intimidated but I look at it as motivation and validation of the barre nine method working! Both my sisters did the 60 day challenge and once I saw how great they looked (my sister with two kids now has abs !) I had to try the studio out. The Woburn location is really nice for those looking to try a different studio (yes the ac works well there). As for staff being friendly I would have to say that is probably the best thing about all of the studios. I think maybe the previous reviewer may of caught someone on a bad day which noone is immune to (you can’t tell me you’re not a troll sometimes !) In fact after graduating last year I was working a crazy schedule and had to move down south for a while and Tanya was extremely helpful. There is a no refund policy but she was able to transfer my classes to my sister and then let me do the 60 day challenge for this session since I wasn’t able to attend the kick off meeting last time around due to being called into work last minute. I did not expect her to do this for me by any means because even if it was due to work its still a pain in the ass, but that goes to show how much she cares about her clientele. Other than that be ready to get your ass kicked because those 5 pound weights may seem like a joke when you walk in (especially if you were a college athlete like myself) but they are serious and you will not be able to keep your arms up after holding them for 10 minutes. However you will be saying goodbye to your bingo wings !! Aka arm fat.

The classes I took here were okay. Not sure if it was just the instructor, but she was rather low energy and seem preoccupied. I felt like it was a chore for her to be there teaching. Also the clients seemed very cliquey. I was a newbie and didn’t feel welcomed, which was a shame. I don’t expect people to welcome me with open arms but wasn’t expecting the cold shoulder either– too bad that’s all I got

I’ve been a client at b9 for well over 2 years, I just stumbled across these Unilocal while looking for something else. I felt compelled to write a review because I’m sad to see some negative reviews. I do think that people tend to write reviews when they have had a bad experience as opposed to a good experience, but regardless: b9 is an amazing barre studio that has been truly life-​changing for me as well as many others. Tanya has designed the best workout for a woman’s body, in fact it helped me lose all my pregnancy weight and then some. There are a variety of instructors — different personalities so you can certainly find the individual that suits you best. I love the energy from Rebecca and Tanya but you can find amazing instructors at each of their locations. B9 is my happy place!!!

This review is specifically for the Danvers location.
I started coming after purchasing a Living Social deal online. First I need to confirm the other comments about cliques and loud music. This place is full of tiny woman with large engagement rings, perfect nails, and salon hair. That can be very intimidating if you are a hardworking woman who is a little out of shape. The workouts that I have tried are fast, loud, and unsympathetic to newbies. With that out of the way, I have to say that the workouts are fantastic. I mean REALLY great. I saw results in just a few weeks going to the hardest classes twice a week. If you can brave the atmosphere in order to focus on why you are there (to work out) you will not regret going. My favorite part about this place is the pre-​pay and sign-​up system on their website. Very organized and easy to use. I also liked that I could count on the classes not being too crowded because there are only so many spots available. Classes fill up quickly.
I keep hovering over the 4 Stars and 5 Stars to rate this place and I’ve settled on 4 stars because of the price. I have just used my last class credit and I’m currently trying to find someplace else similar that costs a little less. I think it may be hard to find anything that will compare.
eh, screw it. 5 Stars.

My aunt took my 4 mo old daughter to the mommy and me barre class. My aunt felt that the music was way too loud for the babies. She also felt the environment was hostile and not friendly at all.
I emailed the owner, Tanya, to see if they would adjust the music based on request to ensure the safety of the babies hearing. After sharing that she attended that same class and saw no problems, she would NOT adjust the music to ensure the safety of the babies. It seems as though this class is tailored to the moms (understood of course) but doesn’t consider the risk associated with loud music and infants. In my email exchange with her, it does not seem as though she had any medical background or a stamp of approval from a pediatrician as to the appropriate level of music.
We will not be purchasing a membership for weekly trips, based on the fact they would not take into consideration the needs of infants.
*****Tanya also suggested we try a mommy and me yoga class elsewhere-​almost as if it was HER WAY OR NO WAY AT ALL!*****
What a bad way to lead a small business! I am guessing she doesn’t read the other negative reviews here and feel her opinion is the only one that matters!
It’s a shame, since we live so close to the studio and I was going to be joining myself on the weekends.
EMAIL EXCHANGE:
Nicola,
I am surprised to see another email from you about this topic. I opened barre n9ne in March 2010. I started teaching the class in 2011 when I had my first child. Many of my clients are nurses and have taken the class with their babies over the course of 4 years. Yours (your aunts) literally is the first complaint I have ever received regarding music level for the mommy and me class. If the music was at such an unacceptable volume I am pretty certain we would have had complaints from the other women taking mommy and me.
Cara is one of my softest spoken instructors and has a baby of her own, in which she participated in mommy and me with him when he was a non-​walker. The music volume was set at a level where myself and all the other clients could hear her speaking over the music instructing the class. She did not have to raise her voice or yell over the music. In response to your first email I simply stated that the music volume was not too loud as I was in the class with my own baby taking it. You mentioned you would not be coming back if I did not adhere to your feedback and tell you that the music would be softer for the next class.
I do not feel we are a good fit for you (or your aunt) therefore I suggested mommy and me yoga which no we don’t offer. I do not plan to communicate further on this topic.
I wished you the best of luck in my last email and I do so again.
Sincerely,
Tanya Croteau
**
hi Tanya,
Just out of curiosity, have you consulted with pediatricians on acceptable volume levels for infants? Is that why the volume level was selected and you feel confident where it is at? My aunt has a medical background, and is aware of the damage loud noises can cause to small babies. I didn’t see any mommy and me yoga classes on your website, so I presume you are suggesting we look elsewhere…
******
Hi,
I always consider client feedback. I happened to be taking the class with my own baby last Friday therefore in this instance I know the volume was not too loud. I have run this same class for over 4.5 years and this is the first email I have received about the music volume. Cara specifically has taught it for almost 2 years and again I have never received a complaint about the volume which is why I emailed you back saying that the volume was not too high last Friday. Maybe your aunt would prefer mommy and me yoga where the vibe is significantly quieter and only background music is played vs music being an integral part of our workout.
Best of luck,
Sincerely,
Tanya Croteau
Owner
****
Hi Tanya,
Thank you for your email. At this point in time, we don’t feel comfortable continuing with the classes with the volume of the music as it is set. If your policy does change or you consider feedback from clients, we would be happy to resume and attend weekly.
Thank you,
*******
Hi!
I was in the class taking it with my 7 week old son and I actually told Cara (the instructor) the music volume was great and she did a great job. She had the music on the set volume I have assigned for mommy and me. We look forward to seeing you again!
Sincerely,
Tanya Croteau
Owner
*****
Hello! My aunt had a great time at the mommy and me class! We are looking forward to attending more, but wondering if there is an opportunity to adjust the volume? She thought it was fine for the adults but maybe a little too loud for the babies?

i have never felt so out of place in my life. this studio is full of a snobby clique. the constant feeling of being judged is sad. I did a 60 day challenge here and at the kick off meeting, all Tanya talked about how she is 100lbs, what her son ate for breakfast and nothing about the actual challenge. This is by far the worst place ever!
Also, if I could give zero stars I would.
–just a quick update, I just saw Tanya and Rebecca in Starbucks, and Tanya came in and started asking me «do you have something to say to me?» When I went to walk by her, SHE WAS RECORDING ME!!! This is the OWNER, I hope this helps people realize what kind of place this is! Ugh soo saddddddd

It’s really unfortunate that the studio is owned by such an immature — cliquey person. DO NOT get me wrong this was hands down one of the best barre studios I have ever been to (and I mainly practice barre workouts). I, however, never once felt comfortable coming to class, or even welcome (besides when I attended Lauren’s class in Andover, one time). It seemed like it was a big clique that you had to be a part of and if you weren’t you were left on the outside.
It’s very unfortunate to me that I also wasted my time recruiting friends and family and insisting that they need to try a class, because after the last class I attended, Tanya Croteau (the owner) emailed ME and asked if I wanted my credits returned to me. Now I remember that class specifically, I hadn’t been in a couple weeks, my brother had just had a baby so I was busy visiting with them, one of my good friends had just been banned from the studio b/​c she took a position at another barre studio as an instructor (REALLY TANYA?! You would think you would be supportive of someone taking the step and advancing their instructor career with a new type of class, but no, it was immediate dismissal from the studio (how old are we again?)). However, Tanya didn’t approach me or say hello to me during class, she moved around and smiled and interacted with just about everyone in the class… but me. Talk about feeling singled out. There was never any falling out, bad blood, or ANYTHING between her and me.
So as you can imagine, I was a bit dumbfounded; why would someone who wants to get people to COME to their studio, be driving them away??? Someone who participated in the challenges, bought class packages, referred both friends AND family, and was a LOYAL, PAYING customer for about 7 months. So I emailed her back and simply asked why she would ask me that? Why would I want my money back and my credits returned to me? NO ANSWER… I understand she is busy so I gave it a week (7 days).mind you, the email was sent to me 3 hours after class! After hearing nothing, I sent another email asking her to please respond… again, nothing! A few more days passed and I realized I wasn’t getting a response from this mature business owner… so I asked for my money back so I could spend it where it was appreciated, within hours the money was back in my bank account (how funny!!).
No barre class can outweigh how terrible the customer service was at this place, I don’t care if you are Tracy Anderson, RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL business means acting your age and putting your customers FIRST, not pushing them away. I’m glad to report I have found two fabulous studios run by mature young ladies and everytime I walk in the door I feel welcome, I will NEVER return back to barre NONE, ha.
Emily

Barre n9ne was my first ever barre experience, so I have to credit them with getting me hooked and making me fall in love with the Pilates hybrid, BUT since, I’ve gone to a lot of other places, and although I’ll still go to barre n9ne when I’m in a pinch, it definitely has a lot of variance in class quality. I recommend going to the one in Danvers, as I think the more experienced instructors are there, and I’ve taken a lot of really good classes there. I recently took my first class in woburn, and was super disappointed– I’d equate it to taking a class in your living room on demand… No instructor energy, very basic and boring, and just lacking any umph! Overall, danvers is good, woburn I was super disappointed, but although neither are terrible, and good on occasion, they’re are better options

As I enjoyed the classes, and found Rebecca very friendly, helpful, and probably the best instructor there, I cannot say anything else nice about my experience. I attended the Woburn location, and I am not a fan of the «late cancellation policy», if you set up a spot in the class, and something should come up in the 24 hours before, you cannot cancel and the class lost, along with your $. Things come up, and sometimes you cant help it. I have also had a bad experience with the owner «Tanya». With the exchange of a couple of emails, with a issue I had about the business moving to a new location unbeknownst to me”.I did not receive that information, I missed 2 classes before I figured out the new location. I expected to be credited those classes, but she would only give me one. That’s not right. When I received an email back (not a phone call), after I put in a phone call, and a aggravated trip to the new location, I emailed her back, about her explanation… she chose to IGNORE me & my response, and I have yet to hear back from her, after multiple attempts on my part. I find her VERY unprofessional, and this whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone… unless you money to just give away.

Not a fan! I have tried various instructors and only found one that actually «taught» by focusing on the students (and not herself). Unfortunately, at this studio, instructors are switched out at the last minute, not giving the students enough time to cancel. If I pay for a specific instructor, and she is switched out at the last minute, I feel my $ 16 should be credited back to me, rather than lost. With so many other studios opening in the area, I plan on taking my $ 16/​class elsewhere.

I purchased the Living Social deal and took 4 different classes with 4 different instructors. All of them took time to correct form during class. All were friendly, certainly some bubblier than others, but hey people all have different personalities! From reading other reviews, I thought there would be a snobbish vibe– totally the opposite. In all of the classes I took there was a mixture of body types and even the fittest (looking at least) were grimacing and cursing the last set. I’m pretty athletic and they all thoroughly kicked my ass, and I had a blast doing it. They also have a buy one class get one free for new customers, so there’s a couple ways you can see if it works for you. Me, I’m buying a 10 class card because I sort of think thigh dancing is fun.

I’m coming up on my year anniversary at Barre N9ne and am constantly and completely thrilled with the studio, the staff, the clients, and of course the workout. Tanya, the owner, is very involved in the community and is always using social media to engage us as clients, through pricing deals, raffles, open houses, photo contests… I really feel like part of something there. I’m almost entirely a Danvers devotee – Amy will change your life. Tanya, Jess, and Jolene have never failed to kick my butt.
As for the waitlist complaint, that proves the (three!) studios have very loyal and large followings. A wonderful studio, worth checking out if you want to get long and lean!

I enjoyed the classes. Cannot deny they didn’t give me a great workout, because they did. Tanya & Kirsten were helpful during classes, fixing my posture and form, but they were the only ones. A few of the instructors rubbed me the wrong way during class, weren’t at all helpful in caring to fix mine or anyone’s form (knees waaaaay over toes, anyone?! They were more focused on their own workout!), and I didn’t really feel welcome as a brand new client only having mediocre barre experience at best. As a Zumba Fitness instructor, I know about keeping clientele coming to classes, and it’s about making their experience in your class fun & comfortable. In certain classes, that was the case, in others I felt less than accepted. Probably why I haven’t returned.
Thought I lost my shoes there once (don’t know why because they were neatly placed on the shoe rack before I went into the studio), but because of the carelessness of their clientele, they were found under soggy snow boots and various pairs of sneakers. Not the instructors/owner’s faults… but really? Somebody must’ve taken my shoes off the rack and threw them around somehow. It began lightly flurrying outside and I didn’t have socks or anything to even wear outside as you do their method here barefoot; I went to the other studio to see if someone mistakingly took mine and the instructor there didn’t seem to even care that I lost them (yes, I may have been slightly interrupting a class but I summoned her very quietly with a sincere & sad «OMG help» face). Eh, I found them regardless. Much to nobody else’s care but my own. Bummer.

This place is fantastic! As a former dancer trying to get back in shape after years of very little exercise and lots of time in my desk chair, I love the different styles and whole body workout. Don’t kid yourself — these classes are very, very tough, but it feels worth it the next day. I work very long hours so I can only attend classes sporadically, but even so I can feel a difference. Definitely worth it to check out a class with their great new student deal (2^nd class is free)!