by Jan Dunn, MS

Last month we talked about what ”conditioning” means for a dancer, and why working on this important aspect of your dance life outside of class is so important.  This month and next, I’ll give you some specific information on what forms of conditioning you might consider incorporating  — if you aren’t already doing so!

Let’s start today with Pilates, something with which many dancers are already familiar.

Pilates has been in the dance world a long time, so most dancers have at least heard of it, even if they’ve not had personal experience.  It is of course now very much part of today’s fitness world (and rehab) as well, but that’s only happened in the last 20 years.

History:

Joe Pilates was German-born, always interested in the body / exercise / helping people, and began developing his system during WWI, while living in Britain.  He began working with injured soldiers, initially with floor exercises (“mat work”), and later using the springs on the beds as resistance (which evolved into the Reformer).

Joe immigrated to the USA in the 1920’s, settled in NYC, and with his wife Clara, set up a gym to begin teaching his developing work.   During the 1930’s, his gym and the fledgling New York City Ballet were located in the same building, and dancers from the company began working with him.  Joe himself was never a dancer, but that’s how the work came to be integrated into the dance community.  Many dancers in the NYC area worked with Joe over the years, as they could see how much it benefited and helped their bodies and dance life.

Pilates exercise (originally called “Contrology”) remained primarily in the NYC area for many years, until several of Joe’s dancer students who had trained with him moved to other parts of the country, and began teaching on their own.   This first generation of teachers, now called “The Elders”, include people like Ron Fletcher, who recently passed away at the age of 90, and studied in NYC with Martha Graham.  He moved to CA, opening a studio in Beverly Hills which catered to movie stars, and helped to popularize and spread Pilates on the West Coast.

There was also Eve Gentry, who studied and danced in NYC for many years, and was in Hanya Holm’s company.  She settled in Sante Fe, NM, in the 1960’s, and began teaching both Pilates and dance.  Over the years she produced many teachers of the next generation, who, like Fletcher’s students, helped the spread of Pilates all across the country.

There were other dancers among that first generation who became teachers, and slowly Pilates became known in other parts of the country. Today, almost 100 years since Joe first started developing his system during WWI, the work is taught and used world-wide, not only in dance, but in medicine / sports / fitness / geriatrics, etc. [Read more…]