I grew up in Cordoba Argentina, studying and taking Master classes with international teachers like Juarez Johnson, Antonio Meneses and Chirstine Walevska and being heavily influenced by cellists like Sol Gabetta. Early on I knew music would be my ticket to see the world, and it has indeed turned out that way. I was offered generous scholarships to pursue three different degrees in the US, which culminated with a Doctorate in cello performance from Arizona State University. My doctoral thesis was about adapting Pilates to fit Musicians needs, more specifically those of string players, and it was titled: Pilates and String Musicians: An Exploration of the Issues Addressed by the Pilates Method, an Illustrated Guide to Adapted Exercises, and a Pilates Course for University String Players.
It was during my doctorate that I came up with the idea of Pilates for Musicians. I had been taking Pilates classes since I came to the US and simply could not afford physical therapy. I was born with hereditary hip dysplasia, which caused my legs to grow differently and to develop scoliosis. What initially led me to find a low impact exercise that would help my hips and back ended up transforming my life in a much bigger way than I had anticipated. I started noticing the benefits of Pilates helping me with the way I played my instrument. My posture was improving, which helped having greater facility at my instrument, I was having less discomfort in my right shoulder while playing and my stamina was increasing. I was also learning to breathe fully for the first time and that led me to having better control of my sound and musical ideas, as well as controlling my nerves during performances.
“My life as a Pilates teacher started out of a personal quest to heal and improve my own body but it became so much more than that as I discovered how Pilates can help in the field of music”
I was very fortunate to live in Arizona at the time I wrote my doctoral dissertation, where some of the best Pilates schools are based. I initially took a Pilates mat training to help me write my thesis, and after that I was hooked. I was lucky to be in Phoenix when the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) had its international Pilates conference in town in 2016, exposing me to a lot of different Pilates schools and amazing teachers. This inspired me to pursue a full certification through Balanced Body in Scottsdale, and later I completed the professional Fletcher program, based in Tucson.
While I was in Arizona I also played with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, where I developed a Pilates class for the musicians of the TSO, and during that time I became more interested in the Fletcher method. Although my studies with Balanced Body had offered a well rounded education, (thanks to BB’s curriculum’s emphasis on balanced muscle development, the study of anatomy and working with people with different conditions), I found something very different in the Fletcher method: there was an artistic element that added another dimension to the work, an emphasis on breath inspiring each movement, and a strive for movement potential as opposed to functional movement. And I was immediately drawn to the towelworkⓇ, which was developed by Ron Fletcher, a direct student of Joseph Pilates and the creator of the Fletcher method.
