About Beyond the Barre
Dear Dancers,
Maybe you’ve felt it too - the ache that isn’t from rehearsal, but from the weight of being watched.
Maybe no one ever said it out loud, but you’ve learned to carry a quiet pressure: to be smaller, neater, quieter, tougher. To push through the bruises, both visible and invisible.
I made this space because I’ve lived that too.
Beyond the Barre isn’t about perfection. It’s about what happens in the dressing room when the music stops.
It’s about the things we carry home in silence. The moments we bury under technique and timing and applause.
The thoughts we scribble on the backs of schedules, in margins, in our heads.
It’s for the dancer who doesn’t always feel strong.
For the one who wonders if they’re falling behind.
For the one who has questioned whether their body, their voice, their pace, their worth is enough.
Why I Built this Platform
I’m Jorele Simons - a dancer, choreographer, and someone who has lived most of their life in the studio.
Dance has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. From the studio corners I called home to the backstages that taught me how to stay quiet when I wanted to speak, movement quickly became my way of understanding the world.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of dancing with the English National Ballet, competing at the Youth America Grand Prix, and working across music videos, television, musicals, and live performance. Each space shaped me - not just as an artist, but as a person trying to find their place in an industry that is difficult to navigate.
Now, I choreograph at Monarch Studios in Surrey, mentoring young dancers and helping them find confidence not just in their technique, but in their voice. And that’s what Beyond the Barre really is: a home for the parts of the dance world we don’t always show or talk about.
This project was born from everything I wish I’d had as a young dancer: somewhere to feel seen. To know that pain, uncertainty, and insecurity don’t make you weak; it makes you human.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
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WHAT WE STAND FOR *
Honesty over Perfection
We don’t pretend here. This space is for the moments that aren’t stage-ready: the doubts, the messiness, the in-betweens. Growth doesn’t have to look graceful to be real.
Softness is Strength
We reject the idea that being tough means staying silent. Vulnerability, emotion, and sensitivity are not weaknesses: they’re part of being whole, and being human.
Community over Competition
This space isn’t about being the best. It’s about feeling seen. We’re not here to impress: we’re here to connect, share, and support one another.
No Expectations
You don’t have to dance a certain way to belong here. Whether you move in a studio, on a stage, or in your bedroom - your voice and your story are valid.
So that’s what I’ve built: not a finished product, but a space in motion. A space where honesty lives alongside artistry. Where softness is seen as strength. Where growth doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.
Here, we care more about truth than polish.
About effort over achievement.
About expression over expectation.
Beyond the Barre is for every dancer who’s still learning, still hurting, still showing up. Whether you’re training full-time or dancing in your bedroom between school and sleep.
Thank you for being here.
With love,
Jorele x
