Finetune Pilates-Evolved

12/08/04

Collective of dancers who've worked with everyone from Jose Limon to Lucinda Childs want to work your body.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
Previously, manager Peggy Wallin taught Pilates out of her apartment around the corner, and her current enterprise maintains a homey ambience that should put gym-phobic folks at ease. Exposed brick, a fountain whimsically placed in a defunct fireplace and two Japanese-style folding screens ensure this studio never feels too therapeutic, despite the presence of bulky rehabilitative machinery, some physio balls, a reformer/Cadillac combination and a cardio treadmill.

The Workout
Clients, by and large, engage in one-on-one instruction with no more than two teacher-student pairings in the studio at any given time. Perhaps because so many of these instructors have worked with internationally recognized choreographers like Mark Morris and Tere O'Connor, concise translation of movement into understandable directions/imagery is the norm. So is a comfort with experimentation--be it with light weights or Feldenkrais props.