Owner/Instructor: Allison Gonzalez
Allison is the owner of Purely Pilates, a certified Pilates instructor through the New York Pilates Studio and is a member of the Pilates Guild. In her 20-year career as a classical ballerina, she performed with ballet and contemporary companies in France, Italy, New York, New Jersey and New Orleans. In New Orleans, as the director of the New Orleans Ballet Ensemble, she implemented Pilates mat classes as part of the training for the company members.
Allison discovered the many strength, balance and flexibility benefits Pilates has to offer while rehabilitating from a dance injury. Following 12 years of using Pilates as a form of cross training to her dancing, Allison chose to teach Pilates. She completed the instructor certification program at The Pilates Studio of New York, which required 600 hours of apprenticeship under the guidance of Romana Kryzanowska, a devotee and pupil of Joseph Pilates, and her daughter Sari Pace, as well as a two-week intensive study under Bob Leikens, a master teacher of the Pilates method.