Isn’t Pilates just for ballet dancers?
The first time I heard the word “Pilates” was a long time ago when I was working as a medical transcriptionist at a sports medicine clinic. When I heard the word on the dictation, I wasn’t sure what it was. I asked the doctor whose notes I was transcribing, and he told me “that’s a type of exercise that ballet dancers and gymnasts do.” I didn’t think any more about it. How was I to know that someday it would change my life?
Fast forward a bunch of years to when a colleague at the engineering firm I was working at (yes, I had gone back to school and changed careers) told me she was taking pilates classes at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School and loved it, and said I should give it a try. A few years later (yes, it took me a while, I was a little intimidated by the thought that I might be surrounded by slender, fit dancers) I dropped in for a mat class, and really loved it. The instructor, a ballet dancer, really amazed me with her strength, teaching the class right up to when she had a baby. I didn’t really click with the replacement instructor, so began trying classes at a community center. These were okay, but large and didn’t fit my schedule well. Instead, I focused on cycling, running, and weights at the gym. I trained for half marathons and century rides, but still felt that I wanted to add some core work. Then, walking around at lunch one day, I saw a Pilates studio near my office. I walked in, talked to the owner/instructor (who was not a former ballet dancer), and ended up scheduling a duet lesson with a coworker.
At this first lesson, I was introduced to the “reformer” and a series of exercises that were unlike any I had done before. I started taking weekly lessons, and really liked the way my body felt—more balanced. Well, fast forward a few more years and, at the suggestion of my instructor, I looked into training to become a Pilates teacher.
During my apprenticeship, there were a number of teachers in the studio that were former dancers. I felt a little intimidated again (I’ll never be that flexible!). Part of the reason Pilates may be associated with ballet in many people’s mind is that many ballet dancers practice Pilates (early adopters!). Ballet dancers had discovered Joseph Pilates’ studio, which was located next to New York City Ballet. The exercise method, originally called “contrology” by Joseph Pilates, became very popular with dancers recovering from injuries and for improving their strength and control. At that time, many of Pilates’ clients had been men, as Joe had opened the studio to be near to Madison Square Garden, close to the boxers he trained.
So, yes there are many ballet dancers who do pilates. After all, the first class I tried was at a ballet school. But, as I spent more and more time in a studio, as a student and then training as a teacher, I saw that all kinds of people do pilates. All age ranges, from teens to 80+; athletes, desk jockeys, self-described couch potatoes, circus performers, and yes, dancers; bodies of all sizes and shapes. And I observed that no matter the body type or whether exercise had been a regular activity before, everyone benefitted from pilates. So, while ballet dancers discovered pilates earlier, now all kinds of people have adopted pilates into their lives, just as Joe always wanted it to be.