By Zoey Trap, MS
Classical Pilates, Traditional Pilates, Contemporary Pilates, Therapeutic Pilates, Fusion Pilates… Pilates is becoming a very big arena! As Pilates popularity continues to grow, it continues to be adapted through the lens of the school creators who are educating instructors.
Peak Pilates® may have been born in the Rocky Mountains, but that’s just a place. It was really born from a deep desire to preserve classical teaching and make it more accessible. Peak Pilates® founder, Julie Lobdell, had the vision of creating a classical education that was as good as her equipment…and she brought Colleen Glenn, Clare Dunphy, and me together to bring this vision to life.
It was a trying time as we considered the values we would stand for, the way the education would unfold, the experience and knowledge we could share, and how to remain true to the classical way – the teachings of Joe and Clara. From the start, we wanted to make a rich, rewarding, and high-quality program. We all had different backgrounds… Colleen had created and run her own school for years under the name of Goodbody’s Pilates (later renamed the Pilates System). Over her career, Colleen had studied under numerous Elders – Eve Gentry, Ron Fletcher, Romana, Alan Herdman, and Kathleen Grant. Meanwhile, Clare had immersed herself in Romana’s teaching. I came from an eclectic background that encompassed many movement modalities, the creation of many teacher training programs (both contemporary and classical teaching), and had finished my MS with a focus on alternative therapy and the spine. Our different backgrounds made the program strong, and our commitment to preserving classical orders, body positions, rhythms, and transitions, kept the work cleanly classical.
In 2000, when we started creating the education, most programs were lacking a strong emphasis on teaching methodology and their focus was on exercise technique. The three of us brought our experience together to create The 5-Part Formula for Success, which furthered the student’s journey in learning Pilates by helping instructors understand progression and how to give the right information at the right time. Today Peak Pilates® prides itself on teaching instructors HOW, not just WHAT to teach!
Clean and classical is evident when you watch a body move quietly, seamlessly through the order with efficiency, control, and grace. When we work with the transitions as a part of the exercises (and not apart from the exercises), the power of the work is witnessed, movement quality is enhanced, and all the Principles flow one into the other.
As teachers move through the Pilates journey, it can get a little muddy… we can start adding in or forgetting how to be crisp and clean – and why it matters. Join Senior MI and Mentor Pamela Garcia in a virtual workshop that will infuse your practice and teaching with clarity, as she revisits all of the transitions and how to stay connected as you move through the advanced mat and reformer orders.
Location: Online
Date and Time: May 7, 2023 – 2:00pm – 4:00pm Eastern
To register from the USA or Asia: https://peakpilates.com/clean-classical-transitions-virtual-workshop-may-07-2023/
To register from Europe, the Middle East or Africa: https://peaku.peakpilates.eu/peaku/clean-classical-transitions?instance=63e2548d8cbf5bd51508d27e