Founded in the same spirit as Spirit Yoga, Spirit Barre is PB’s community barre studio, offering comfortable, beach vibes, and a place to connect with your barre community.
Dana’s two strongest interests have always been fitness and animals. After graduating from Boston University and working in the corporate world, Dana discovered yoga and was an instructor for years before getting her masters degree from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. She moved to beautiful San Diego in 2004 and has worked for almost 2 decades in animal sheltering & welfare, zoology, and veterinary medicine. After attending barre as a student for about 5 years, Dana took the opportunity to train to become an instructor and has been enjoying teaching fun and invigorating classes since 2017. In 2020, Dana and her husband Torrey purchased Spirit Yoga, and then in 2021 created Spirit Barre. When not at yoga class, at the barre or managing a veterinary hospital, Dana likes to run, strength train, and walk her beloved dog (and Spirit’s official mascot) Armani.
Follow her on instagram: @gsleader4252
Courtney grew up spending most of her free time in the dance studio. She took classes in ballet, tap and jazz throughout her childhood. As she grew older, Courtney found a way to continue to dance, joining the cheer squad at her high school. As a young adult, Courtney entered the workforce but it didn’t take long for her to find that movement was what she was meant to be doing. She started her journey to teaching fitness in 2015 when she took yoga teacher training. From there she launched a career in the fitness industry, teaching yoga and yoga sculpt. As her career progressed, Courtney found herself drawn back to her roots and was inspired to teach barre and Pilates workouts. Courtney’s classes are formatted to incorporate both Pilates and Barre movements that are safe and effective focusing on alignment and functional movement patterns.
Follow her on instagram: @courtneyfordwellness
At the ripe age of three, Tess began dancing and continued through College. While she loves all styles of dance, ballet has always been her specialty. She found Barre in 2015 right after graduating from SDSU and absolutely loved the workout. She likes how ballet positions are incorporated into each workout and enjoys the intensity of getting those muscles to shake!
Tess completed her instructor Training Program through BarreBody Studios and has been teaching for years. Tess is thrilled to be a part of the Spirit Barre team and bring barre back to the community! Her goal is to safely challenge those muscles and get you to reach new levels of strength.
Follow her on instagram: @tessklein
Samara’s love for movement and dance began at 3 years old. Performing on stage and learning choreography built her confidence from a very young age. She deeply values living her life for the present, and believes there is no better way to experience the present than through fitness and the performing arts. Samara studied Musical Theatre at Manhattanville College and performed off- broadway in New York City. She has an affinity for teaching Barre, is American Barre Technique Certified and teaches Barre classes in San Diego. As an avid educator and traveler, she taught English abroad in Israel and currently curates travel retreats to Greece, Belize, Iceland and Cuba. Samara is also an NYU Certified Coach, guiding her clients to set goals to live their lives at their highest potentials. She believes that mental and emotional health are equally as important as physical health. Samara is a true follower of her passions. She finds joy and excitement in change and leaning into new challenges to further progress her abilities personally and professionally.
Follow her on instagram: @samaraariel
Brielle is a born and raised San Diego local who grew up a competitive gymnast and swimmer. After injury and life took over, Brielle’s mom introduced her to mat pilates in 2006. Loving what pilates had to offer in terms of toning and injury prevention she began diving into similar low impact workouts, like barre. One class later and she was hooked on the shake, soreness and almost instant muscle definition. After her two boys were born and not wanting to get back to the “gym grind”, she dove deeper into barre, yoga and pilates. Seeing what benefits these workouts offered her both physically and mentally, she was inspired to take the plunge and get barre certified as well as currently completing her RYT-200 hour yoga certification through CorePower Yoga. When she’s not at the barre or on the mat you can find Brielle spending time with her family boating, biking, paddle boarding and beaching throughout San Diego.
Armani was adopted by studio owners Dana & Torrey in 2018. He was rescued from the streets of Tijuana where he was found with a shattered hip and many bite wounds. Now living the good life in Pacific Beach, he spends his days sleeping under Dana’s desk as she manages the veterinary hospital. He loves visiting Spirit (and is the official mascot…Insta-famous!) and you can often find him sitting on the benches in the front lobby or napping in his bed between his mom & dad’s yoga mats. He’s a little shy because of his traumatic time on the streets, but once he gets to know you, he’ll give you big smiles & wags!
Follow him on instagram: @armani_thedoodle
Amanda has always loved taking group fitness classes and can be found class hopping around gyms and studios. Being a former dancer, competitive cheerleader and gymnast, Amanda naturally fell in love with barre. With over 8 years of teaching experience, she holds multiple barre certifications and is AFAA group exercise certified. Amanda has taught various other class formats and has built a reputation of presenting a challenging class. While it is her hope that clients’ limits are pushed, she will never let you forget the importance of form and encourages clients to always do what is best for their bodies.
Follow her on instagram: @mandahowww
Brittany has called San Diego her home since 2001. She stumbled across barre in 2013 and has been hooked ever since. After instructing hot barre for 3 years she is excited to get back into the studio as part of the Spirit Barre team!.
Follow her on instragram: @bsauter08
Steph has just finished up her student teacher training and she is now ready (and VERY excited) to take on this new journey! Born and raised in New England, Steph made her way out to San Diego in 2021 to check out what the West Coast had to offer. She loves to pop around into different fitness classes and outdoor adventures – and that’s exactly how she found herself at Spirit Barre! She’s passionate about bringing people together through positivity and movement, and is just really always happy to have a good time!
Follow her on instagram: @stephgorms
Megan recently moved to San Diego from South Carolina and has been teaching barre for 2 and 1/2 years. . When she’s not at the barre, she works full-time in Business Development and Operations. Megan’s passion for Barre stems from her love of dance, starting at the age of 4. She loves motivating others to move and take care of their bodies, while focusing on making fitness FUN!
Fun fact: Megan is an avid traveler. She has lived overseas in Swansea, Wales and Vina Del Mar, Chile. Her goal is to travel to every continent, and has 3 left to visit!
Follow her on instagram: @meganmpark85