Carolyn Ratliff has been teaching Pilates for almost ten years. She
was certified in 1999 by The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado, one of the
premier teaching programs in the country. She first taught Pilates at the
Children's Dance Foundation and Steel City Fitness before opening Pilates
Place in 2003 with her partner, Lelie Hughes. As an undergraduate at the
University of Colorado, Carolyn studied ballet, modern, and jazz dance. She
later enrolled in the ballet program at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham, and subsequently at the Alabama Ballet School. She was a dancer
and performer with Southern Danceworks from 19xx-19xx. Her desire to be
around dance in a creative setting led her to the Children's Dance
Foundation, where she had the pleasure of working with a wide range of
special needs and at risk children in a variety of settings for 15 years.
Carolyn’s love of movement, fitness and a healthy lifestyle have been
constant themes in her life and teaching. |
Lelie Shaw Hughes brings
exuberance and a joy for life to all her endeavors, with Pilates philosophy
at the heart of it all. She received a BA in dance from the University of
Alabama at Birmingham, then performed professionally. She continued teaching
ballet at UAB and the Conservatory at Birmingham-Southern College. An
interest in children's dance education followed, and she joined the staff of
the Children's Dance Foundation (Birmingham) as they formalized their
curriculum with the goal of promoting the benefits of dance and creativity.
During a late pregnancy, Lelie
began to see the difficulties of maintaining the postural alignment and
energy levels demanded of a dancer, and these questions led her to try a
system of exercise developed by Joseph Pilates. The results were so
compelling that she began to study the complex connections between the human
mind and body at the Physical Mind Institute in Santa Fe, N.M. With a growing
understanding of the immeasurable value of Pilates for people of all
abilities, she began the 18-month process of certification in Pilates
education from the country's leading experts at the Pilates Center in
Boulder, Colorado. Now, Lelie brings her training, leadership skills and
enthusiasm to Pilates Place, the studio opened in 2003 with her partner
Carolyn Ratliff. |
Ellen Schmelzle graduated from
Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada with a double Honors degree
in Psychology and Sociology of Law. After working as a Juvenile Probation
Officer for several years, Ellen decided to put her career on hold to raise
her four children. As a stay-at-home mom, she maintained her interest in
physical activities, which included aerobics, running, tennis, golf and
martial arts. In 2003, she earned her Second Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon
Do. Upon moving to Birmingham in 2004, she was sidelined by a low back
injury. Many unsuccessful attempts to find relief for her pain prompted a
friend to recommended pilates. Ellen was very impressed with how quickly
and effectively pilates restored her health, and was so inspired by the
mind-body-spirit philosophy of pilates as a path to life-long wellness, that
she decided to become a pilates instructor. She is currently enrolled in
the instructor training program based out of Boulder, Colorado and will
complete her certification in the fall of 2008. |
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Mary Margaret Scalici graduated from the
University of Alabama in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in dance,
and has been dancing professionally ever since. She now performs with
Southern Danceworks, Sans Pointe Dance Company, and Children’s Dance
Foundation. She has been an AFAA certified fitness instructor since 1998
and has taught a wide variety of fitness classes at many gyms. Mary
Margaret is now transitioning from teaching all types of fitness to
primarily teaching Pilates. She has attended many workshops and conferences
and is looking forward to an extensive study of Pilates. She also teaches
ballet, modern dance, and a Pilates mat class at the Alabama Ballet Center
for Dance. |
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