Teachers
Laura Pennock
“ Make your body a place you want to live” has been Laura’ s motto since starting tostudy Pilates in 1983 after recovering from dance-related injuries. Her ability to combine
Joseph Pilates’ wisdom and modern research helps her teach clients to safely mobilize and stabilize their bodies, often reaching and surpassing their own fitness goals. Laura is acutely aware of the physical and non-physical toll injury and illness takes on the body and is determined to help her clients achieve their movement potential.
A graduate of California Institute of The Arts, Laura has been fully certified in Pilates by the Physical Mind Institute in New York City since 2001. Her teachers have included Deborah Lessen, Madeline Black, Doris Pasteleur Hall and Irene Dowd.
Suzanne Mailhot
Suzanne Malmad uses movement and massage for building strength, body
awareness and well-being. She is certified as a Pilates Instructor and
Licensed as a Massage Therapist. She completed Pilates training through
the Physical Mind Institute in NYC and Pilates Method Alliance. She is
inspired by the work of Thomas Myers and includes Posture Analysis as
well as Rehabilitative Exercises for those with prior injuries or muscle
imbalances. Suzanne has worked at Black Rock Pilates since 2006 and
continues to explore the benefits of yoga, qi gong and dance: "I believe
in embracing and integrating different forms of exercises with Pilates
principles for optimal strength, mental balance and flexibility.
Megan Bascom
Megan is a fun and cheerful true Florida Native. She received her Pilates certification through the Kane School of Core Integration in NYC and her BA in Dance Studies focusing on Dance Injury and Prevention from the University of South Florida. She is newly transplanted to Connecticut where she and her husband reside and loves being this close to a beach! Megan has had a passion for anatomy for as long as she can remember and enjoys sharing her anatomy knowledge with clients to help them better understand exercises and how the body moves. Her experience as a dancer provides her with a detailed sense of movement, allowing her to facilitate a thorough movement experience and workout for each client. Megan spends her extra time teaching dance to kids and dancing professionally with a Brooklyn-based modern company that she has performed with since 2003.
Doris Pasteleur Hall
Doris has been a student and a teacher of movement, including dance, Pilates and Yoga, for over 30 years. Her complementary research into the somatic modalities of Laban, Body-Mind Centering and kinetic anatomy have fostered and augmented her interest in the body-mind embodiment. Doris currently works with Tara Collins, PT at Black Rock Physical Therapy in Bridgeport, CT as a very qualified movement/neuromuscular re-educator. She continues to teach Pilates independently and for the non-profit Body Wise Connection which provides access to the positive benefits of movement for people dealing with cancer. Doris strives to continuously hone her teaching abilities to help people get from where they are to where they want to be.
Kim Burke
Kim
started studing Pilates while in college and after graduation received
her Reformer 1 Certification with Balanced Body and recently finished
her Mat Certification. Kim will also be teaching mat classes and will be available on Monday and Wednesdays for Apprentice Reformer sessions--
We are excited to have Kim join us at the
studio.
Janelle Thompson Biggs -Janelle started her career in movement and training as a
dancer, working with ballet companies
throughout the east coast. When her dance career ended, she wanted to share this
experience of enriched physical and psychology well-being with others.
This ultimately culminated with Janelle’s development as a pilates
teacher, which now has spanned nearly ten years.
Janelle received a BA in dance at Roger Williams University. She is
also certified through the PhysicalMind Institute of NYC for pilates. Janelle continues to train and study as a teacher and student
to challenge herself and her clients. As an instructor she tries to
instill a message of bringing total body balance and awareness into
every day to assist in creating a long, active, happy and healthy life.
Casey Sylvestro - Casey was first exposed to the Pilates Method as an actress in NYC struggling with body image. Pilates was the road to a physical transformation as well as the discovery of a passion to teach the Method. Casey received her comprehensive certification through Core Pilates NYC and has since been helping others to define their muscles and fitness goals as well as redefine themselves. Core Pilates' certification program provided a strong foundation in all apparatus Pilates, knowledge of anatomy and a background in special cases and pre-natal Pilates. Casey has been teaching in Manhattan at Equinox Fitness and is thrilled to now have the opportunity to work with the phenomenal team of instructors at BlackRock Pilates.
Robyn DeFonce -Robyn is thrilled to combine a love of fitness with the joy of teaching
and helping others make connections with their own bodies. Robyn
believes that Pilates gives the body a perfect foundation for all
athletic pursuits.
A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University,
Robyn left a career as an advertising Art Director to raise her two
sons. It was during this time that she discovered Pilates (and a
fascination with anatomy)! She holds her Pilates Mat certification
through Balanced Body, and is an AFAA certified Group
Exercise Instructor.
Emily Greiser -
Emily left her post as acting director and instructor at the busy Manhattan studio, Core Pilates NYC to pursue Graduate studies in African Language and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Among the many distractions of New York City Emily found Pilates as a way to keep her mind sharp and her body moving. Emily brings over eight years of teaching experience on the mat and apparatus. Her teaching style is informed by the classical method of Pilates and tailored to the specific needs of her clients. Additionally, she has taken multiple workshops focusing on the integration of small props such as mini-balls, physio-balls, foam rollers, barrels, thera-bands, magic/power circles to the mat and apparatus exercises. Her years of experience have equipped her to understand how to best tailor and modify the method for people with special needs albeit pre/post natal or live with varying limitations from inflexibility, poor balance, to medical conditions such as osteoporosis, arthritis, and scoliosis. Recently Emily instructed a Pilates class as part of a blind research project through the Department of Kinesiology at University of Wisconsin- Madison that is focused on how Pilates movements might reduce symptoms and challenges of posture, gait and balance for people with Parkinson’s disease.
