WHAT IS PILATES

ABOUT JOSEPH PILATES

Joseph Pilates was born on December 8, 1880 in Germany. As a child, he suffered from rickets, asthma, and rheumatic fever. Determined to overcome these ailments, he began body building, gymnastics, skiing and diving. His father was a gymnast and his mother was a natural-path which likely influenced his interest in the fields of movement and well being. He studied eastern and western forms of exercise but was greatly inspired by the ancient Greek and Roman regimens. In 1914, Joseph along with others was placed in an internment camp in Lancaster, England. Joe taught his physical fitness regimen to the others in the camp and boasted that they would leave the camp stronger than when they had arrived. It was here that he started devising his original exercises that would be called Contrology. He devised his earliest equipment by taking springs from beds and rigging them up to help rehabilitate the bedridden. It is said that none of his followers suffered from the influenza epidemic that killed thousands of people at that time. After WWI, he returned to Germany and began training the Hamburg Military Police and personal clients. In 1925, en route to America, Joe met his wife Clara. After settling in New York City, they began working in a boxers gym where several dance schools and rehearsal were located. By 1930, they had taken over the gym and his reputation of working with injuries spread by word of mouth and his client base grew. In the 30’s and 40’s, during the early years of American ballet and modern dance, he trained and rehabilitated many dancers. Some of these dancers such as Carola Trier, Eve Gentry, Romana Kryzanowska, Ron Fletcher, Kathy Grant, and Bruce King later became first generation teachers. Joe wrote two books: Your Health and Return To Life. Although he worked very hard to promote his work, it was not embraced by mainstream medical and educational systems. In spite of this, Joe’s work began to quietly spread outside of New York as his first generation teachers moved to other areas and continued to teach the Pilates philosophy and technique. Joseph Pilates died in October of 1967 at the age of 87. Today, pilates is considered one of the most effective overall physical conditioning methods in existence and is practiced by over 7 million people worldwide.

ABOUT RON FLETCHER

Ron Fletcher was born on May 29, 1921 in Dogtown, Missouri. He came to New York City in 1944 and began dancing with The Martha Graham Dance Company. After sustaining an injury to the knee, he was referred to Joseph Pilates by a fellow classmate. It was here where he learned how to correctly perform extraordinarily beautiful movement from deep within the body. For two decades, during his career as a dancer and choreographer, he studied with Joe and Clara Pilates. In 1971, he opened the Ron Fletcher Studio for Body Contrology in Los Angeles and introduced the west coast to the pilates method. This pilates studio attracted many well known celebrities, such as, Ali Mac Graw, Barbara Streisand, Candice Bergen, and Katharine Ross. Fletcher is recognized as a “Pilates Elder”, dancer, choreographer and author of Every Body is Beautiful. He died on December 6, 2011 at the age of 90. Fletcher’s approach to the Pilates method, which is referred to as “Fletcher Work”, incorporates Graham based elements of movement and dance. While staying true to the principles and fundamentals of Pilates, Fletcher developed an organic, flowing and artful series of movements along with his own innovative towelwork, floorwork, and percussive breathing techniques.