The Moving Body Pilates Teacher Training Program
Classes Begin September 15, 2007
Body, Mind and Movement
Joseph H. Pilates (1888-1968) was an inspired, creative man who was ahead of his time. His life’s work was to develop a method of physical and mental conditioning that is balanced, pleasurable and fun, and to help people restore themselves to the natural health, vitality and well being that is their birthright.
At The Moving Body, we provide an exciting, comprehensive and congenial learning environment to train teachers who can safely and effectively teach the work of Joseph Pilates.
Entry Requirements
Candidates for the Teacher Training Program must pass a written anatomy test and a practical test on the Pilates Mat, Cadillac and Reformer. Our Pre-training Intensive and Anatomy Intensive are designed to prepare candidates for the entry exams.
Pre-Training Intensive
Our Pre-Training Intensive is a flexible six-week program designed to help applicants meet the prerequisite of intermediate level work for the Teacher Training Program.
It includes nine private lessons, four group classes, and unlimited mat classes. Three lessons are with a master teacher and six are with a student teacher. Classes are designed specifically to teach new students the beginning and intermediate repertoire.
Anatomy Intensive
Using skeletal models, films, slides, and our own touch and movement explorations, we will study the anatomy and kinesiology of the musculoskeletal system by region, looking at common problems and how to move through them. If you’d like to know more about how we move, this is a delightful, engaging way to find out. The atmosphere is relaxed and congenial. This class is for anyone interested in movement.
This 30-hour course fulfills the anatomy pre-requisite for our Pilates Teacher Training Program.
The Training
There are two components to The Moving Body Pilates Teacher Training Program - labs and classes, and internship. Together they provide a framework for learning with structure and flexibility.
The program commences with a 21-hour introductory weekend. During this intensive start, you’ll meet the faculty and other students, and receive your notebooks.
Beginning with an orientation to the studio and an overview of the program, we teach the core principles of the Pilates Method, basic observation skills and the essential matwork repertoire.
After the introductory weekend, you’ll attend six more three-day weekends of classes (except vacations and holidays.) In these classes, you’ll learn:
• the classical Pilates repertoire for mat, Cadillac and reformer
• observation and communication skill
• assessment and teaching techniques.
You’ll also attend lectures and participate in class discussions devoted to physiology, kinesiology and biomechanics.
Internship
The heart of the training program is the internship process, where students develop their movement and teaching skills in a working studio environment with the ongoing support of experienced teachers.
In addition to the classroom/lab hours, students are required to complete a 450-hour internship as follows:
• Observation of lessons taught by certified teachers 100 hours
• Self-mastery of the classical Pilates repertoire 125 hours
• Practice teaching volunteers the classical repertoire 100 hours
• Student teaching (student teachers receive a stipend) 125 hours
On average, students should plan to devote 10-12 hours each week to their Internship.
Completion of the entire Teacher Training Program, including Internship, Lab and Classroom Training, normally takes approximately 12-14 months.
Principal Faculty
Sirkka Svanoe, Senior Faculty
After recovering from hip surgery at age 18, Sirkka changed her major to kinesiology and started practicing Pilates. She graduated from the University of Colorado (Boulder) and then began her training at the Pilates Center in Boulder, where her studies included an internship at the School of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa. Sirkka received her Pilates certification in 1995 and, inspired by the new doors opening for her in Pilates and dance, moved to New York City.
Her exploration of her passions for Pilates, dance and movement has led her to Louisiana, Seattle, and Vail, where she taught Pilates and danced professionally. Her mentors in New York are Irene Dowd, Robin Janis at the Iyengar Institute, and Kelly Kane from the Kane School of Core Integration. Sirkka and her husband moved to Saugerties, NY in 2001.
Sirkka teaches Pilates and is the principal repertoire teacher in The Moving Body’s Pilates Teacher Training Program; she also practices yoga, African dance, and Continuum.
Christine Becker, Director
Christine received her Pilates training at SUNY Purchase in 1993 from Romana Kryzanowska, and her Gyrotonic® training in NYC in 1997 from Juliu Horvath. She studied bodywork at the Muscular Therapy Institute, is a graduate of the Florida School of Massage, and is licensed in New York State as a massage therapist. Christine holds professional memberships in the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) and the Feldenkrais Guild of North America.
An avid student, she has enriched her understanding of ‘the moving body’ through many continuing education courses, and has been especially inspired by the work of Irene Dowd, Jean Claude West, and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. She is currently a student in a Feldenkrais Practitioner Training Program, and expects to graduate in 2009.
Prior to opening The Moving Body in Woodstock in 1995, Christine was director of The Pilates Movement Center in Westport, CT. In addition to her work as a movement teacher, she has maintained a private bodywork practice since the mid-1980s. Her abiding interest is in helping people achieve greater health, vitality and embodiment through movement.
As director of The Moving Body, Christine is very involved in developing the Pilates Teacher Training Program and other continuing education offerings.
Kelly Kane, Program Advisor
Founder of the Kane School of Core Integration in NYC, Kelly has trained Pilates teachers and taught privately for more than a decade. She studied with Romana Kryzanowska, one of the few living disciples of Joseph Pilates, and Hila Paldi, another Romana-trained professional, and she obtained her certification through the Pilates Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Facilities
We are housed in a beautiful 1799 farmhouse in Woodstock, New York. Light-filled rooms and warm wide pine floors with Oriental and hand-loomed rugs provide a serene and inviting environment for training. The studio is equipped with five reformers, three wall systems, a Cadillac, three high barrels, three combo chairs, and a mat room, as well as various pieces of small equipment and an extensive reference library.
Trainees attend classes and work in our new classroom area, and have access to an extensive multimedia resource library. We use a full range of new teaching tools and equipment, such as skeletal models and multimedia resources for your studies in anatomy, kinesiology, physiology and repertoire.
Classes are as beneficial as private sessions. If I feel out of alignment, I go to the studio and come out feeling all fixed up.
Wilhelmina Frankfurt