Communicating Pilates at the Royal Academy of Dance

Published on 17th July 2019

Well what a beautiful week of wonderful responsive students. And some feedback that's put the spring in my tail! Thank you for your emails and texts and lovely words. This week, apart from working my usual timetable, I'm teaching summer evening school at the Royal Academy of Dance every night. I was SO happy tonight AND, actually nothing to do with Pilates, per se, because for me something very real and important is shifting. Accessibility. And I realised it's about individuals embracing and including. Not about a policy but the policies internalised and realised by special individuals are what make the difference. All this week, I'm watching students grow, lengthen and adore their Pilates. But I also see a desire to help, to be kind , to communicate the cueing to other students, who are perhaps new humans and unknowns to them. The kindness of strangers springs to mind. RAD students come from all over the world for this course. Some choose to have mats near me to watch and understand as I do my best to communicate. But wouldn't it be just wonderful if your teacher (me) could translate everything she's saying. But what's happening this week is, and you know who you are, students who can translate have placed themselves nearby a potentially isolated and talented dancer and have, if needed, translated a moment. And it's these moments that make the difference. Not just in Pilates terms but in the world we live in. What a wonderful thing. Thank you all. See you in class tomorrow. xox

Back to blog list