When Alison began dancing at age six, it sparked a lifelong love of movement and gave her a solid grounding in the key principles of fitness and exercise. Yoga and Karate followed soon after, but it was during her University years when an athletics coach suggested she try Pilates that Alison's passion was really ignited. Moving to New York in 1996, she earned her Comprehensive Certification with Power Pilates, studied the Elaine Petrone method and Active Isolated Stretching with Jim Wharton. In Australia, Alison opened the highly successful Simply Pilates studio introducing Classical Pilates to her clients. Now a certified Peak Pilates Teacher Trainer, Alison regularly conducts intensive Teacher Certification courses in her Melbourne studio.
Marguerite's path to becoming a Peak Pilates teacher trainer has been an exciting journey. Combining her love of movement with a desire to impart knowledge has brought her to a new plateau - one which utilizes the experiences of all of her previous endeavors. Starting out at age 5 with classical Russian ballet training, passing on the dream of stardomon the stage to gain a degree in Sociology/Geography at Exeter Uiversity and a post graduate business diploma in London, England. Marguerite opened her Soul 2 Sole studio in 1994. After becoming certified with Stott in Toronto in 1997 she added Pilates and it now accounts for 99% of the studio use. After taking her teacher training course in Boulder and co-teaching with mentor Kimberlie Barrett in 2005, Marguerite is now ready to be the first Canadian Peak Pilates Teacher Trainer is proud to be part of the Peak Pilates team.
After her dance training at the Rosella Hightower Center in Cannes, Blandine led a professional dance career in France and in Germany. After her return to France, she discovered the Pilates method in Cannes. She received her Pilates certification from Alan Herman in London. Passionate about physical exercises, her goal is to enlarge her knowledge of the classical repertoire. Her arrival at Elément enabled her to invest herself in the Peak Pilates method, which fully fulfills her expectations. Since then, Blandine became one of the Master trainers for the Peak training program at Elément. Convinced by the Immediate results and long term benefits of the method, Blandine's generous teaching techniques and enthusiasm inspires a wide range of clients.
In 1992 Dunja started working in the fitness industry as an ACE certified teacher, two years later she had become a teacher trainer, coach and presenter. She has educated thousands of fitness enthusiasts in group teaching of all kinds of aerobic styles (Step, Kick Fit, Workout, Pilates and Dance to name a few) for different german fitness associations like DFAV. As a long time international presenter, at tradeshows such as FIBO, her background as a pharmacist and a pharmacy owner has attracted much interest in her articles and lectures about anatomy, healthy nutrition, pharmaceuticals, aromatherapy, supplements and sports. Being a certified NLP practioner and personal trainer provides her with in depth knowledge that she applies towards her teaching and coaching. She was orignally certifiied with Polestar, followed by trainings with well known classical teacher trainers. She has recently completed her Comprehensive Certification through Peak Pilates. Since 2006 she has owned her own pilates studio "Absolute Pilates" in Cologne, Germany.
Simone’s first contact with Pilates came in 1998 during her studies in Hamburg to become a dance and gymnastics teacher, which she later continued at the academy in Arnhem, Holland. She has been teaching Pilates mat exercises since 2002, and work on the apparatus since her classical Pilates training in 2004. Simone has offered classical Pilates training in Berlin under the name Core Pilates since 2007. She teaches workshops and presents Pilates at trade shows such as the FIBO and Pilates Conventions.
Susan Colijn was born in the US but has lived in Germany since 1965. After high school, she studied radiology at the University of Erlangen in Nürnberg. She encountered Pilates during a Mind & Body education program and felt enthusiastic about how the work can change the body. Also a group fitness instructor, she has worked as a presenter for Safs & Beta discussing the Pilates basics, and now owns and operates her own Pilates studio in Erlangen, Germany, which also serves as an education facility for Peak Pilates programs.
Louise has worked in the field of movement for many years, first as a professional dancer, and later in mainstream fitness. She was introduced to Pilates after sustaining a back injury. Amazed by her recovery while doing Pilates, she began training and working at IsoFit, the first Pilates studio in Hong Kong. She later pursued training in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta and was finally certified in 2000 with Romana Kryzanowska in Sydney, Australia. She founded her own studio, Core Ability, in Hong Kong in 1993 and recently relocated with her family to Canada and hopes to set up a home studio next year.
Agnes started her career as an economist. She earned an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, with a major in Marketing and International Management. She was a professional handball player for 10 years and later became an IFAA certified aerobic instructor, personal trainer and recreational sport instructor. She was introduced to Pilates at a convention in 2003, and is now a pioneer, opening her own Pilates Club in Esztergom, the first classical Pilates club in Hungary.
Kazumi Morihata has experience as a personal trainer and aerobics instructor for more than 15 years. During this time, she was a consultant for a fitness association and trainer of instructor courses. Kazumi has been teaching anatomy, physiology, resistance training and aerobics at a career college specialized in sports.
Kayoko has been a fitness program director for more than 15 years and holds a degree in exercise physiology. During this time, she worked as an educational trainer for AFFA throughout much of Japan. Her career started as a dancer and she shifted her focus to instructing Pilates from 2003, as a director of the Pilates Alliance, a Peak Pilates licensed training center in Japan.
Fumikazu was deeply impressed by the quality of Peak's education programs, having received his PPS1 certification in Tokyo in 2005. He currently provides Pilates instruction in both the studio and fitness club setting while also working as a fitness instructor.
Hugo Codaro is a Peak Pilates® PPS I certified instructor with more than 20 years experience in the health and fitness industry. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he received his bachelor's degree in Physical Education from the University of Buenos Aires. In 1983 he moved to Japan where he worked in the fitness field throughout the country and soon was supervising the training of other instructors. In 1994, he was appointed Supervisor of the Fitness Center at the world renowned Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel. He is currently Director of Holistic Studio Efi, one of the first Peak Pilates® equipped studios in Tokyo.
Masayo has been an aerobics instructor for more than 10 years and earned her comprehensive certification in 2009 through the Peak PilateSystem. She is currently a teacher for the Pilates Alliance in Tokyo.
Kiyoun has been studying ballet since 1988 and went on to receive her B.A. and M.A. in that field. While in graduate school, she was first introduced to pilates, and continued on to receive her comprehensive certification from Power Pilates. After auditing a Peak PilateSystem Level-I course, she was greatly impressed by Peak's Program. She decided to pursue her goal of becoming a teacher trainer with Peak Pilates and is proud to be the first Peak teacher trainer in Korea. Kiyoun is currently studying for her Ph.D in Physical Education and has recently become co-owner and director of Classic Pilates, Inc. in Seoul, Korea
Michele completed her Pilates certification at the Pilates Center in Boulder, CO, and is also trained in neuromuscular therapy, Myofascial Release, Asian technique, Lomi Lomi and Swedish massage. She unifies her study of Pilates with her degree in Exercise and Sports Science (ESS), focusing on effective techniques to increase physical awareness and correct structural imbalances.
Ernie started her career in the fitness industry 20 years ago as an aerobic-instructor. In 1990 she opened her own studio, followed by a second 2 years later. She received national recognition of being one of the first studios to start with Spinning in the Benelux Health Center Palaestra, which is now the biggest Spinning center in the Netherlands. Since then, she has followed several international education programs and is now a certified Yoga and Pilates instructor. In 2004, Ernie opened the first and biggest Peak Pilates studio off the Benelux, which also serves as an education facility for Peak Pilates programs.
Rocío graduated in 1991 from the University of Madrid with a degree in Physical Sciences in Sports and Health. In 1994 she became a personal coach. Then, in 1996, she obtained the championship in Spanish Fitness, and second place in the Spanish championship of aerobics competition. Over the past several years, she has been showcasing her classes and workshops in Spain 's most important conventions and venues introducing new trends, such as the Fit-ball. Rocío, an expert consultant for prestigious publications in the fitness world, has been teaching the Pilates method to clients since 2000 and is also a teacher trainer.
Carmen Cárceles began studying dance in 1983 and devoted herself to professionally dancing from 1991 until 2002. Then she began to teach dance classes in different studios in Madrid. In 2001, she began Pilates and completed her training with Master's degree in Feldenkrais technique and Stretching Global Active. Currently, she is the owner of a Pilates Center in Ceuta, Spain.
Noemí was born in Barcelona and has been dancing since she was fifteen years old. She received her Bachelor's Degree in physiotherapy from the University of Barcelona and has completed her training with a Master's Degree in Feldenkrais technique and sport re-adaptation. In 2001, she began her career as a personal trainer and was certified at the Pilates Institute in London and the Holmes Place Company in Spain.
Patricia is a Physical Therapist specially-trained in orthopedic and neurodynamic manual therapy. She completed her graduate studies program in Physical Therapy, with a focus on manipulative spine and pelvis muscle-toning technique training. She now collaborates with Professors on a variety of graduate-level physical therapy and Traumatology programs.
Begoña Muñoz has twelve years experience in the fitness industry working as a technical director, fitness instructor, and personal trainer. Certified by ACE, AFFA, and NASM, she began her Pilates background with the Polestar Education program and furthers her studies with Special Populations workshops. At present, Begoña is co-owner of the Pilates Global Studio in Marbella Spain.
Marcos holds a BS in Physical Exercise and Sports Science from the Blumenau Regional University in Brazil. He became the Aerobics Champion of Portugal in 1992 and currently works as a personal trainer and Peak Trainer for Portugal and Spain.
Celia is comprehensively certified through the Peak PilateSystem and is the owner and manager of The Studio in Tarifa, Cadiz. She studied Osteopathy in Malaga and was also Mat trained by Stott in London and Polestar.
Didem began dancing (classical balet) at the age of six. She received her bachelor's degree in contemporary dance from Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul. She received her MA from the same university where she also took classes in Feldenkrais, Laban Movement Analysis, anatomy and biomechanics. After six years of experience in teaching dance and improvisiation classes at the university and primary schools, she met pilates. She got full certified from PAI in NY. When she was introduced to Peak’s Program by Nancy Hurd, she was impressed by the system and began her pathway to be teacher trainer. In 2008 she opened her own studio in Istanbul and now trains teachers for Peak Pilates. She is proud to be a part of the team teaching PPS in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ibrahim began participating in artistic gymnastics in the country of Turkey at the age of 6. He was a member of the Turkish Artistic Gymnastics National Team and was also on the National Team for Platform and Trampoline Jumping and Artistic Aerobics. He received his undergraduate degree in Sports Science and now works as a Department Chief at The Hillside City Club, the oldest gym in Istanbul. He is the Master Trainer for the Hillside Gym Branches, and is responsible for the education of the personal trainers. He also teaches at Halic University in the sports department.
Melis Yengil has been practicing ballet since she was a child, and went on to study classic ballet in both high school and college. She earned a Masters in Contemporary Dance while in college and is and is now a professional instructor. Through her dance studies, she was exposed to Pilates exercise on went onto complete her comprehensive training. She has since focused on the Classical Method of Pilates and is not head of the Pilates program at the Akatlar Club Sporium in Turkey.
Serdar began his sports life over 30 years ago with Artistic Gymnastics in Ankara, Turkey. In addition, he was a member of the National Turkish Diving Team. He received his B.S. in Physical Education and Sports and has lectured at Ankara University. He worked as a personal trainer and sports adviser/coordinator for many health clubs, but gymnastics has always been his passion. He has worked as a gymnastics trainer, international judge and administrator. He became the head of the Aerobic Gymnastics Department of Turkish Gymnastics Federation in 2004.
Lee's journey from serving as a soldier in the British army to becoming a Peak Pilates Trainer has been revelatory. Since qualifying as a sports therapist almost ten years ago, he has worked with elite sports teams and conditioned sports legends. With almost ten years of working within the fitness industry, he is an experienced fitness professional with proven skills in people management. Being a certified teacher of the classical Pilates method helps him with his work conditioning individuals and teams for a wide variety of sporting needs.
Melissa Lavin is an ex professional ballet, contemporary and flamenco dancer, most recently having danced the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio at the Royal Opera House, London. She was introduced to Pilates 6 years ago by Zoey Trapp and Colleen Glen through Goodbody's Pilates. After qualifying through Polestar Pilates UK (mat and studio) Melissa came back to the classical system and now trains teachers for Peak Pilates. She also uses her Sports Therapy qualifications to aid in rehabilitative work with individuals.
