Where: AEROSPACE NYC, 332 West 13th Street , New York, NY

AeroBarre: I Can't Hear You!

I strolled into this studio in my cowboy boots, thinking that "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo" would be a good look for a barre class. Alas, I was the only one sans footwear. Happily, despite a few close encounters with flying jump ropes, my tootsies made it out unscathed. Yeah, jump ropes - this ain't yo mama's Lotte Berk sesh.

My first takeaway:

I know you know this already, but I just love Michael Olajide. He wondered in before class and handed out props to those of us who were not correctly equipped; seeing that I had no shoes on, he came over to say hello and shook my hand like I was the president. Oddly but somewhat adorably, I noticed that he did the first 10 minutes of class with us - except outside the room (there's a window on the back wall). IDK?

Anyway, he is just the warmest dude I've met. Such a sweetheart.

On Leila:

• Leila was very quiet. Quiet in general, but also literally I couldn't hear a single word she said, through the entire class, because the music was so loud and she didn't have a mic. Not ideal.
• Leila is a little mysterious, with a cute secret little smile.
• Very beautiful in a middle-eastern-princess kind of way - with the big brown Jasmine eyes to boot.

I saw her before class working out in the little boxing room with punching bags - punching and doing dancer moves. It was cool to watch her doing her own workout, because she's kind of a beast. It was also cool when I realized that she had been practicing for our class - nice to know when a teacher really cares about that they're instructing.

On the class

Aerobarre is not, I repeat NOT, Lotte Berk. It's a mixture of Michael’s Aerobox with some lady-like squatting and lunging plus some dance movements and arm sequences thrown in. Leila also had us do graceful, dance-y transitions between movements.

The class moved in sets: 

• Warm-up stretch
• Jump rope
• Bodybar-assisted legs workout
• Light weight, high-rep arms sequence
• Jumprope
• Punching sequences holding light weights
• Jump rope
• Punching sequences with no weight
• Cool-down stretch

BTW: not a typical shoe-less barre class! You need sneaks.

Music/sound

Music was cool, edgy and techno-y like Michael's Aerobox class. Notably, there were a few songs that matched amazingly well with the movements. Some planning definitely went into it.

Because we couldn't hear her, the students were always looking around at one another, and constantly looking up when they were in poses where the gaze was towards the back wall (like forward bends). It was just a little confusing.

A few criticisms

• I don't love the super fast boxing segments - they're just not doable for the standard (or even above-average) fitness class-goer. I get that it's a goal to build towards, but they never give alternative options and I just can't keep up, which is a little defeating.
• The music was so loud that I didn't hear any of the instructions (and I was in the front row). She needs a mic!
• Not the class for people who have issues with jumping. I modified by jumping an imaginary rope while holding mini weights, but it was still a lot of bouncing. I mean you can do it, but you'll have to do your own thing a lot, and she doesn't demonstrate modifications.
• Didn't ask about injuries.

Note

There were two foreign girls in the back who had come together - and they we're like fish out of water. Tall, lanky, uncoordinated - and not digging it. I was annoyed by their "hopeless" attitude (even of they didn't get the sequence, do something, don't just stand there with your arms crossed) but I thought Leila still could have made a bigger effort to make them comfortable (they were clearly embarrassed) even just tell them to shuffle-touch when the sequence was too confusing. Personally, I just get uncomfortable when people around  me are uncomfortable.

All in all

This class was worthwhile and fun because it was fresh - there really aren't any other classes out there that fuse boxing and barre moves. The teacher was nice (and kind of badass) but she really needs some speaker projection. Or to turn the music down.

From the AEROSPACE NYC website: Leila Fazel, Co-Founder A former professional ballet dancer and luxury spa innovator with Ian Schrager Hotels, Leila Fazel is Director of Operations at AEROSPACE High Performance Center.Born in Utah and raised in Tehran, Iran, Leila started studying ballet at the age of seven. After returning to the United States at age nine, she continued her dance studies with the Cleveland and San Francisco ballet companies. At age 15, she was personally selected by the late Robert Joffrey to study at the Joffrey Ballet in New York City.The daughter of two college professors (her father taught psychology at Purdue, her mother taught art history at Indiana University in Ft. Wayne), Leila attended Indiana University in Bloomington, where she studied under the direction of renowned ballet masters Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride from the New York City Ballet.After earning performance and business degrees, Leila was invited by Bonnefoux to dance at his prestigious summer program in Chataqua, New York, where he gathers the world’s most influential teachers and students for intensive studies and performance. There, Leila was discovered by Walter Reins, the late director of the ballet school at the Dance Theater of Harlem, and she joined his school in New York. Six months later, the company’s director (and Balanchine protégé) Arthur Mitchell invited her to dance professionally with the ensemble and her performances included Rubies, Serenade and Allegro Brilliant.“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study with some of the best dancers and teachers in the world,”Leila recalls. “They taught me about the importance of determination, discipline and going for your dreams.”When an injury forced her to retire from ballet, Leila channeled her education, experience and artistic passion into creating new business opportunities. She developed the concept and business plan for a new breed of luxury spas that would combine the sensibilities of Eastern philosophy and modern Western design. Partnering with Ian and Rita Schrager of Ian Schrager Hotels, the team launched the trendsetting Agua spas in Miami, London and Los Angeles.Leila says the inspiration for the Agua spas came from her childhood in Iran, when she would go to ancient natural baths, called Hamams, with her mother and grandmother. “The baths were a beautiful and sacred space where you could relax, connect with family and rejuvenate the body and spirit,” Leila remembers. “I wanted to bring the wisdom and healing of the baths to the United States.”The concept worked and the Agua spas earned international acclaim, including features in Vanity Fair, Harpers Bazaar, Vogue (US, UK and Italy), Elle (Germany) and the New York Times, among others.In 1998, Leila happened upon one of champion boxer Michael Olajide Jr.’s AEROBOX® classes at a sports club in New York City and was captivated by the excitement and athleticism in the room. “It amazed me how similar it was to dancing,” Leila says. “It gave me everything I missed from dancing – strength, agility, balance, coordination, musicality. I fell in love with training all over again.”Olajide quickly recognized Leila’s dedication, professionalism and talent, and the two joined forces to develop and produce the AEROBOX®, AEROJUMP® and AEROSCULPT™ video workouts.With the opening of the AEROSPACE High Performance Center, Leila and Michael are creating a revolutionary new fitness lifestyle that combines the techniques of professional athletes with a luxury spa experience to provide one of the most efficient, effective and rewarding approaches to fitness anywhere.“AEROSPACE offers a complete fitness solution for people to realize their best selves,” she says.

Find out more about AEROSPACE NYC at www.aerospacenyc.com

Find Leila on facebook

Read more about Leila on the SocialWorkout

Watch a video of Leila doing AeroBarre here 

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