Barrez studied under Jean-Francois Coulon and was the principal dancer at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux from 1817 to 1821.
He originated roles in several ballets of Jean Coralli and Joseph Mazilier, including Le Diable boiteux (1836), La Tarentule (1839), Le Diable amoureux (1840) and La Péri (1843).
[3] He began teaching ballet at the opera in 1832; Danish ballerina Lucile Grahn was one of his students.
[4][5] In the spring of 1844, he was called to Madrid, where he worked as a ballet master at the Teatro del Circo and shared the stage with Marie Guy-Stéphan, Clara Galby, Clotilde Laborderie, Ernest Gontié and Marius Petipa.
[6] In 1847, he was hired as a ballet master at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, a position he only occupied for one season.