Clyde Forth • Faculty
Clyde earned her BFA in Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University in 1991 and her MFA in Visual Art from Bennington College in 1996 with a concentration in dance and sculpture. She has completed intensives in dance and improvisation with Terry Creach, Peter Schmidtz, Penny Campbell, Susan Sgorbati, Eiko and Koma, Yoshiko Chuma and KJ Holmes.
She has taught art, art history, performance art and dance at institutions such as Bennington College, New School University/Eugene Lang College, and SUNY Ulster. Since 1989, she has been artistic director of Clyde Forth Visual Theatre and owner/director of Circle House Studios for Dance and Interdisciplinary Art. Clyde also presents original dance and performance works, and solo and group exhibitions of drawings, photos and installations, in the US, Canada and the UK.
Clyde joined the faculty of The Moving Body in 2006 following completion of our Pilates Teacher Training Program.
I learn about the body from each student that comes across my path. The quality of your lines of energy, and your movements, even small gestures, is like a fingerprint. I like to focus on people individually, not only in which exercises to teach, but also in a personalized approach to learning them. I want you to really enjoy your movement.
In 1993, I had a baby. My husband was a Pilates instructor and so I was able to learn the method and get my "dance body" back very quickly. Twelve years later, I was ready to stop commuting to NYC and wanted to settle down a bit more into the Hudson Valley. The Moving Body offered a tempting Pilates Teacher Training Program, and I was hooked back in.
Pilates supports and challenges my previous dance training and my continued research. I enjoy the increased body awareness and energy it gives me, and I love the way the exercises feel on my body. Pilates is very versatile, so I create many kinds of workouts and individualize them for different needs. Pilates has value for many ages, body types and personalities; I've seen this first-hand in working with people from age 13 to 93 at The Moving Body. I teach people to get the maximum efficiency and strength in their movement, and offer a lot of imagery, hands-on guidance. And I know the value of a good laugh during a not-so-elegant moment. Pilates is serious fun!
I tell people the teachers are
attentive, the studio is clean,
and the equipment is up to
date. And, the exercises make
you feel good.
Renee Englander