New Teacher Alert!
We’re thrilled to welcome A.M. Van Doren to our Knockout Pilates team.
They’ll be available for private sessions Tuesdays 8am-1pm.
Read on to learn more about them!
KO: Tell us about your Pilates journey.
A.M.: I found Pilates in high school. One of my teachers back in Columbia, Missouri introduced us to mat Pilates - clamshells and bridges - and I thought it was so interesting, so I went to the library and checked out books about it.
After getting my MS in Physical Education, I got certified with Ellie Herman who was a big presence in the Brooklyn Pilates community. I liked that her style was form based, but you always got a full-body workout. And I was excited to study with someone who was directly involved with the Pilates legacy.
KO: I only know Ellie Herman as the inventor of our springboard. Who was her teacher?
A.M.: She trained with Romana. And I also did some training with Freddie Pearson Nunez, who studied with Kathy Grant.
KO: That might explain why our teaching styles are so harmonious, because Kathy Grant was the teacher of our teacher Clarice. How would you describe your teaching style?
A.M.: I’m interested in developing structural integrity in movement, developing mover knowledge. I do probably 90% to 100% classical Pilates like I’ve been taught but in a functional way I’ve developed after years of seeing people move, seeing what kind of organization allows the body to develop coherently.
KO: Tell us about what you do down the hall at Revolutions Per.
A.M.: Revolutions Per Bike Fit Studio is my business. Adjusting your bike to improve performance and comfort and reduce injury has always been this niche thing for road cyclists of a certain socioeconomic class. I’m interested in making it more accessible and also raising the level of movement analysis. I do use a lot of Pilates-style cuing: the idea of a neutral spine, width at the collar bones, openness at the sitz points, flexion in the front of the hips.
KO: What’s your favorite Pilates exercise?
A.M.: I really like teaser. I find it very challenging and very fun.
KO: Any particular variation?
A.M.: I like a mat teaser. Also pulling straps where you’re facing toward the pulleys on the reformer, as opposed to the more classical direction. It feels more supported.
KO: Anything else you’d like folks to know about you?
A.M.: One of the things I admire about Knockout is that you and Lesley are bringing your own individual pursuits - boxing and dance and yoga and writing - into your practice and allowing it to inform how you teach. I think that’s really beautiful, and that’s how I am, too. It’s hard to pull apart my Pilates teaching from my bike fitting from my aikido practice. I really enjoy that the Knockout community has space for that diversity.
