Lads hit the barre for charity

Group of men aged between 30 and 40 swap football, running and CrossFit for squats, lunges and pliés

A group of men, aged between 30 and 40, swapped football, running and CrossFit for squats, lunges and pliés at the View Studio in St Andrews to raise money for Dundee’s Maggie’s Centre.

A squad of Fifers hit the charity barre to raise funds for the Maggie’s centre in Dundee.

The View Studio in St Andrews hosted the lads for the fundraising – and eyebrow raising – charity class.

The group of men, aged between 30 and 40, swapped football, running and CrossFit for squats, lunges and pliés.

They got into the spirit of the event with pink headbands and leg warmers but drew the line at donning traditional tutus.

Ian Furneaux, one of the participants, explained the choice of Maggie’s as the charity, saying: “Maggie’s is a charity close to our hearts so anything we can do to help raise money we try to support and any chance to embarrass myself along the way is an added bonus.”

The class, which was charged at a minimum donation of £20, raised a total of £750 and was led by the founder of the View Studio, Samantha Mace, who deemed the event a complete success.

Samantha, whose mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, said: “What the centre offers, the support and the amazing design of the buildings is an excellent venue for patients and families”.

Her own motivations for organising the event was something she wanted to do “for a long time” and came about because one of her clients recently started working at the centre.

She said barre ballet was chosen for the fundraiser rather than pilates or yoga because many men are already enrolled into those classes and do not realise how demanding barre can be.

Due to the success of Saturday’s event, Samantha has expressed an interest in organising future Hit The Barre classes, with the hope of making it an annual occurrence in two years’ time.

Many men do not realise howdemanding barre can be. CLASS LEADER SAMANTHA MACE

Picture: Sarah Burns. The squad ready to participate in the ballet class to raise money for Maggie’s in Dundee. Some of them travelled from London for the charity event.