Blane has been practicing and studying Pilates since 1998 and was certified through the Ellie Herman Institute in 2002. While the majority of his time is spent teaching at Parkside Pilates he still teaches at Ellie Herman Studios. From 2003 to present has been involved in the Teacher Training Instructor Program (TTIP) at the Ellie Herman Institute acting as co-head of the program. Blane has assisted Lizz Roman in her Injury Prevention and Recovery Worskhop for teaching professionals since 2004. In 2007 he became a certified Balanced Body University Instructor. Along with one-to-one fitness training he specializes in injury prevention and recovery. Through out the week Blane teaches quite a few Pilates based group classes. His popular classes promote a non-competitive atmosphere while challenging the student to reach their fullest potential. Focus of the classes include precision, control, stability, core strength, increasing flexibility all the while promoting enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment. Pilates can be quite challenging but should be fun too! Blane has been a dancer for the past 20 years and has performed with Company Chaddick, Huckabay/McAllister Dance, EmSpace Dance, Vogt Art Dance, and Steamroller. Interested in becoming a Pilates instructor? Email Blane.

Lizz, a professional dancer, was initially introduced to Pilates in 1986 at St. Francis Dance Medicine after fracturing her foot. Then in 1991, Roman sustained a serious back injury. After being told she was a surgery candidate who would need to give up her dance career, Roman decided to again try Pilates at St. Francis where she began a long recovery process. One year later, Roman was able to attend an MFA program in dance, where she became interested in kinesiology and dance injury prevention and rehabilitation. In 1998, Roman was recruited by Ellie to attend her new Pilate's instructor certification program and went on to study with Ellie's then rehab specialist, Jane Edwards. Ms. Edwards, an amazingly talented Pilates rehab trainer with extensive training in neuromuscular reeducation, introduced Roman to the work of Vladimir Janda, MD. Janda is known worldwide for his research linking muscle dysfunction and chronic pain syndromes. Since then, Roman has integrated Janda's program (progressive balance and proprioceptive challenges to improve overall body posture, muscle balance, joint stability and speed of muscle contraction) into her own approach to Pilates rehab. Lizz has had great success with chronic and intransigent injuries. For the past five years she has taught a 12 week rehab intensive for certified Pilates instructors, fitness trainers, yoga and dance teachers as well as a variety of other bodywork and health practitioners at the EHS in San Francisco.

Ann received her training in the Pilates Method from Ellie Herman in San Francisco. She has a BA in theater performance from the University of Michigan, and a degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. Ann has been a dancer for most of her life. studying at the Boston Ballet School, and for many years with internationally acclaimed choreographer Alonzo King in San Francisco. Five years ago, she discovered Argentine tango, and was immediately hooked. She has gone on to study with some of the top teachers in the world, including Miriam Larici and Hugo Patyn, stars of the original Broadway production of Forever Tango, Guillermina Quiroga and Claudio Villagra, also of Forever Tango, and Paulo Araujo, master teacher from Brazil.

 

For the past 13 years, Ann has been a costume designer specializing in designing and constructing costumes for movement related performers. Her clients have included figure skaters Dorothy Hamill, Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt and Tara Lipinski, San Francisco Ballet, Smuin Ballet, Lines Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Singapore Dance Theater, Joffrey Ballet, American Conservatory Theater and Teatro Zinzani. Suffering from stress induced illness and chronic pain caused by her work and a series of old dance related injuries, Ann began taking pilates classes as a way to rehabilitate her body, find balance in her life, and get back into shape. Over a period of months, she began to see and feel an amazing difference in her body, and after one year, realized she was pain free for the first time in over a decade. Ann decided to become a pilates trainer so she could help others achieve the same benefit. She completed the teacher training program at Ellie Herman Studio in San Francisco in August of 2006, and is currently transitioning into a full time career teaching pilates and tango.

 

Ann's approach to teaching pilates is based in the classical method, with a strong emphasis on proper alignment, breathing and posture. Her belief is that clients will find the most benefit if they can apply what they learn in the studio to their daily lives and she strives to help her students make this transition.

Chris Black was introduced to Pilates in the late nineties as she struggled to maintain her dance career while suffering from chronic back pain. She found the system so effective she became a certified instructor through the Ellie Herman Institute in 2001. The following year she also completed Lizz Roman's Rehabilitation Intensive. She has continued to deepen her understanding of the human body through workshops with teachers such as Eric Franklin, Marie-Jose Blom and Jennifer Stacey.

 

Chris credits Pilates with making it possible for her to continue to work as a choreographer and dancer. She was able to return to performing within 6 months of giving birth to her daughter. She has been awarded an Isadora Duncan Dance Award, a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award and several grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission for her choreographic work.

 

Chris enjoys the collaborative nature of working with Pilates clients and believes in tailoring the work to fit each individual's needs. She takes particular satisfaction from helping clients to manage chronic pain. In her teaching she emphasizes building strength and stability that the client can draw on in everyday life.