Pilates evolution
Pilates evolution
Joseph Pilates was the creator of the Pilates method and who developed it and made it known in New York. His students were so satisfied and believed in the method so much that after the death of Pilates in 1967 many of them decided to carry on his legacy.
Clara, the Pilates woman, continued with the studio that her husband had opened and some of the best students, such as Romana Kryzanowska, helped Clara with the management of the center.
At this time there were no teachers as such and the method was not fully developed and consolidated, so it was former Pilates students who were in charge of deepening the method and extending it throughout the rest of the country. Kathy Grant and Ron Fletcher stand out, who opened a studio in Los Angeles and made the Pilates method fashionable among Hollywood celebrities.
Subsequently, Pilates was adapted to the needs of the users and physiological studies were carried out on this method to improve it.
If you have already gone to Pilates classes with different teachers, you will have been able to observe that classes are never the same; and it is that each instructor makes the method his own.
Also, it differs between classic Pilates and contemporary Pilates.
Original pilates exercises. Photo by Jessica Monte.
Classic Pilates and Contemporary Pilates: Pilates evolution
Classic Pilates: it is the original Pilates but adding the medical and scientific advances that have been developed to date. This method is based on the exercises created by Joseph Pilates and how he used them (order of movements, frequency, intensity …).
Contemporary Pilates: Take exercises from the Pilates method and add many adaptations. Movements from other disciplines are also included and the original Pilates teachings regarding the order and evolution of movements and progress in learning are not respected. Of course, it has many detractors, since it moves away from the fundamental pillars of Pilates.