pilates education and research

Annie originally trained in classical ballet and discovered Pilates through her dance training. She qualified with Alan Herdman Pilates in 2006 and was a teacher at Gordon Thomson’s Rehabilitation studio in South Kensington for 10 years.
Annie currently lives in Tunbridge Wells and teaches both mat and 121 sessions. In addition to being a keen skier and qualified Swiss snow sports instructor Annie specialises in applying Pilates in the treatment of Low Back Pain, with additional interest in ante- and post-natal Pilates.

P.E.A.R. Pilates teaching specialist

I first discovered Pilates 30 years ago, attending Gordon Thomson's Queensbury Mews studio. At that time I was working in films and television, despite the stress of long hours and overseas travel I found a Pilates session once a week helped keep mind and body together.  

Thanks to an Alexander teacher friend I had been aware of the benefits of body work since my early twenties, but once I discovered how regular Pilates classes can help you function better in all aspects of your life I became a devotee, qualifying as a matwork Pilates Instructor with Totum Fitness in 2011. Since then I have been lucky enough to attended Cadillac and Reformer courses with Gordon Thomson and Ellie Ioannidou, as well as many masterclasses with London's finest Pilates teachers.

The rehabilitation benefits of Pilates were never more realised than in 2014 when I was knocked down by a car, resulting in double leg fractures and a smashed shoulder socket. My complete rehabilitation is a result of intense Pilates sessions with both Gordon and Ellie. 

P.E.A.R. Centre manager

Simone was born in Zimbabwe and came to London to train as a ballet dancer. She ended up dancing for Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet for 9 years and English National Ballet before moving to Cape Town City Ballet where she danced for a further 3 years. It was during her time as a dancer where she was introduced to Pilates and was amazed by its effects on her and her dancing. Realising the power of the exercises, she decided to train as a teacher back in 1997. She has trained with two of the UK`s leading teachers, Lynn Robinson and Gordon Thomson. Simone has been training teachers for Body Control Pilates since 2005.

Specialist Teaching Skills:

Master Studio Teacher
Pre- and Postnatal Pilates
Teacher Training 

Rehabilitation

P.E.A.R. Pilates Associate

During her 14 years of teaching Antje has developed a ‘good eye’ for what is going on in a person’s body. The connection of body and mind is a very important factor on how she helps clients to achieve their goals. Antje has successfully worked with numerous clients on the rehabilitation of their backs, shoulders and hips.

She also offers Nordic Walking tuition for people who are looking for a cardiovascular workout.

Antje moved to the UK 23 years ago from Germany. Her first career was in banking where she was sitting at a desk all day. She was a regular at the Physio until she was introduced to Pilates in 2002. It had such a positive impact on her posture and overall wellbeing that she decided to become a teacher. Her comprehensive training for mat work and studio equipment was with Body Control Pilates, one of the leading teaching bodies in the UK. She worked for many years at Gordon Thomson’s studio in South Kensington. She continues her education and development by attending regular workshops and seminars.

P.E.A.R. Pilates Associate

After training in Classical and Contemporary dance in London, Gordon became one of the first to be trained in the Pilates technique by Alan Herdman, the original guru of Pilates in UK.  He now has over forty years experience of teaching Pilates since opening his first London studio at the Urdang Academy in 1981.  Pineapple studios in Covent Garden and South Kensington followed, leading to no less than twenty-two years running his own studio in South Kensington.

Gordon introduced Pilates to Ipswich Town Football Club before they were promoted to the Premiership, putting down a marker to make the technique part of the coaching establishment for most professional clubs.  More recently he has been a head coach for seven years to two amateur football teams in North London, winning numerous cups and finally the league cup and a FA national tournament at St Georges Park in 2013.

Gordon’s publications include 12 Body Control Pilates books with Lynne Robinson, and numerous contributions to magazines and football journals. This helped establish Pilates as a real household name and it now makes a highly respected contribution to health and exercise and critically to all areas of the sports community, here and abroad.

Using the brand Pilates Body Europe with business partner Ellie Ioannidou,  Gordon has developed a complete series of illustrated machine course manuals and since 2014 he has been offering Pilates courses to run alongside the Finnish Marja Putkisto Method.  He is now fully affiliated with this technique, and teaches Marja’s teachers on a regular basis.  Trainees include the coach for the Finnish national ice-hockey team and Helsinki’s leading professional team;  having been inducted into the complete Reformer Course, Pire can now add a different element on to his teams’ training programmes each week.

Gordon currently teaches one day a week at Ellie’s new studio in Gloucester Road London, and also works from his own premises in West Sussex - even in his 67th year he is still enjoying being creatively productive!

P.E.A.R. Pilates Associate

Sam qualified with Body Control Pilates in 2001. He is a Certified Body Control Pilates Matwork Master Teacher and Certified Body Control Pilates Studio Master. He is a Member of Body Control Pilates Education Tutor Team.
Sam trained from the age of 10 at the Royal Ballet School and was a Professional Dancer with Sadler's Wells, the Royal Ballet, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet for 17 years. He was first introduced to the Pilates Method in 1991.

P.E.A.R. Privates' Pilates Teacher

Victoria was already in the fitness industry when she took an interest in Pilates 10 years ago. She was a personal trainer and had developed rheumatoid arthritis which was having a devastating affect on her life – she simply couldn’t do what she’d been able to.

A colleague introduced Victoria to Pilates  and after visiting a studio regularly the stiffness and mobility

problems often associated with arthritis dramatically improved.

It changed her life so she embarked on a full-time career in Pilates.

Victoria is a member of the Body Control Association and teaches a ‘pure’ form of Pilates: classic and just the way Joseph Pilates would have liked it.

P.E.A.R. Privates' Pilates Teacher

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P.E.A.R. Pilates private teacher

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Pilates Associate

Michael qualified as an Osteopath and Nutritional Therapist in 1999. Since then Michael has been treating people from all backgrounds, including professional athletes and dancers. His clientele includes professional dancers from Strictly C. D. and principal dancers from both the English National Ballet and Royal Ballet. Michael has worked at the flagship LA Fitness gym in South Kensington and at Farmacia at Selfridges and Covent Garden. He is passionate about exercise and well-being and enjoys swimming, gym training, and Pilates.

Osteopath

Maria was born in 1965 in Luanda, Angola.  She comes from a dancing background in Classical and Modern Ballet and Jazz, and has a degree in International Relations and Marketing.

Maria is the founder and manager of PilatesbyMariaLarsen studio, located in the Estoril Tenis Club, Estoril, Portugal. It is Portugal’s largest pilates studio. It has been in operation for 12 years, with 6 teachers and acknowledged medical networking.

Certified by Body Control Pilates Association and Pilates Body Europe, Maria has worked with all reference names of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation teachers all over the world. She has worked closely with Gordon Thomson and Ellie Ioannidou in the last 4 years developing Pilates in Portugal.

Maria is International Director for P.E.A.R. in the UK and is engaged in starting up a Pilates studio in the medical community in Chennai, India.

Maria is the author of “Pilates” and many articles in recognized medical magazines and others.

P.E.A.R. International Director

Olga is a professional ballet dancer and master Pilates teacher. She graduated from ballet training in the Rambert School of Ballet in London and received a Foundation/BA(Hons) Degree. Later she joined several dance companies in Germany, Greece, and Australia. In addition, Olga has a Specialist Teaching Diploma in Contemporary Dance from the Laban Center in London. As a young dancer, at the age of 11, she began Pilates training.

Olga completed Advanced Master Training  (2.5 years and 1000+ hours) in Body Control Pilates as a student of Jenny Colbourne (a student of Jerome Andrews  (a First Generation Teacher who worked for Joeseph Pilates for 10 years)) and Dreas Reyneke. She currently teaches Pilates and ballet to private individuals and corporate clients who are looking to achieve excellence. She teaches Advanced Pilates for Dancers as a member of the Artistic Faculty at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington DC.

Olga was the personal Pilates trainer for a number of wonderful celebrity clients in London, Germany, Greece, California, and Australia. Her advanced training techniques helped her clients achieve the highest level of physical fitness, with long, lean, healthy bodies.  Olga is an active member of the Royal Academy of Dance in London (RAD), the Pilates Alliance Australasia, and the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS).

P.E.A.R. Ltd U.S.A. partner

Following a career in the armed services, Richard started training in the Pilates method with Body Control Pilates in London in 1999, and has since gained considerable experience in musculoskeletal evaluation, exercise, and injury rehabilitation. He works at a fully-equipped studio in London (WC1) and is part of a team of teacher trainers, tutoring and lecturing in the UK and internationally.

Having qualified from the British School of Osteopathy in central London, he is registered with the General Osteopathic Council and works with patients of all ages as an Osteopath in London (WC2N) to restore health and prevent illness and injury, using a variety of techniques including structural, visceral, and cranial. Richard is also qualified to provide Western Medical Acupuncture.

Ostepathy, Pilates

Judy began studying Pilates with Alan Herdman (UK founder of the method) whilst a student at the London Contemporary Dance School.  During her dance career, she continued training at Alan’s Studio and also that of Hanna Gordon (founder of Pilates Foundation). After her apprenticeship to Gordon Thomson (co-founder of the BCP Company), she became a full-time teacher in his South Kensington Studio. Simultaneously she was invited to join the BCP Teacher Training team, responsible for mat and machine courses at all levels. Continuing the dancer’s ethos of ongoing study and training, Judy began investigating the Gyrotonic method, which resulted in her becoming a certified Gyrotonic / Gyrokinesis teacher and Gyrotonic Pre-Trainer.
Recent years have seen her living and working in Barcelona and Argentina. She ran her own practice and was invited to teach Master classes for “Movimiento Pilates” (Gabriella Solini) in Madrid and Valencia and at the studio of Gabriella Morales in Rosario (Argentina). She was invited to teach Gyrokinesis on a regular basis at the Gelabert / Azzopardi Company, Spain’s leading contemporary dance company.
Once again living in the UK, Judy divides her time between her bases in London and Warwickshire, teaching Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis, and Pilates – mat and machine.

Pilates, Gyrokinesis, Gyrotonics

Sue is a Body Control Pilates instructor (qualified and teaching since the year 2000), holding a Pilates Level Three teacher with the Register of Exercise Professionals. From a professional dance background with many years experience as a Pilates teacher, Sue has also supervised student teachers and develops training courses.
Working mainly in rehabilitation and pre- and postnatal care, Sue teaches Pilates classes for groups and individuals in Hampton and teaches studio-based 1:1s and classes at Pilates Works Studio in Weybridge.

Sue has extended her work into the field of Therapeutic Pilates, which is a Release Therapy using breathing and relaxation techniques to release muscles, reduce stress, and aid relaxation.

P.E.A.R. Pilates Associate