“It’s a fine feeling when a teacher can reap and enjoy the gratification of seeing the progressive change in a student who has been surely and carefully taught.” – Ron Fletcher
A top-flight dancer and Hollywood choreographer during the 1940s and 50s, Ron Fletcher began his Pilates odyssey over five decades ago. One of the few original students of Joseph Pilates known as the elders, Ron studied and consulted with Joe from the 1940s on, eventually opening his own studio in Los Angeles in 1970 with the blessing of Joe’s wife, Clara. Ron instilled some innovations and advancements to the work inspired both by his years as a Martha Graham dancer and by another mentor, Yeichi Imura.
Ron is credited with bringing Pilates to the West Coast. It was at his studio where many Hollywood celebrities discovered the method and where the media – for the first time – started covering Pilates extensively.
This year Ron Fletcher, Pilates landmark and pioneer, turned 90. Balanced Body was fortunate enough to get some of his time and talk about his work with Joe, the evolution of his own teaching and his advice for new teachers.
BB: There was a time after Joe and Clara passed that the method almost died. It was only being taught by you and the other elders. Did you ever think that it might actually disappear?
RF: Considering the success I had in my Los Angeles studio, I had no question that the method would continue on, certainly on the west coast. It was a vibrant and exciting time. The kinds of people I worked with guaranteed its survival and success.
BB: In one of your videos you and Kathy Grant talk about how Joe was disappointed that his method never caught on with what he thought were two ideal demographics: men and the medical community. Why do you think that was and what caused it to change?
RF: It is often difficult for the average man to see beyond the dancelike exercises and understand the therapeutic benefits of this method. Men often didn’t stay long enough to notice the results: postural improvement, a stronger, more flexible spine and torso, proper body placement and better movement patterns. Though Joe have taken to it and have understood it more than have men. In recent years we’re seeing more men in our program. More male teachers lead to more male clients, allowing more men to experience and benefit from this method.
The medical community wasn’t interested enough in examining what it could do for the body’s muscular and skeletal structures or how it could improve neurological functions. There wasn’t enough exploration or enough teaching from that point of view. The program I helped develop for St. Francis Memorial Hospital with Diane Severino and Michael Podwal in 1983 was one of the first of its kind. There are now great strides being made in the medical community, but still a long way to go.
BB: Did Pilates himself modify exercises to accommodate individual client impairments? Do you?
RF: Pilates has to have a certain structure and rules – so the body has a chance to learn its particular technical requirements. Just like we need to know our ABCs, we need to first establish a certain vocabulary to work with and use this vocabulary to the full benefit of the student, client or patient. Sometimes Joe altered the movement a bit to work with certain bodies. He often made adjustments to the technique especiallyn for people who were injured or rehabbing. Consider his work with Eve Gentry after her mastectomy.
If any movement becomes painful, it’s wrong. I consider, “how far can we go before it hurts?” If it becomes painful, we go back and start over. If it still hurts, stop. We shouldn’t work any movement program through pain. On the other hand, the body often rejects what’s new, what’s not comfortable. Sometimes we have to take the body through discomfort. I do believe in making adjustments, but we can’t baby the body. There needs to be effort, muscular activity and strong thought given to each piece of movement.
BB: Has your method of teaching evolved over the years? If so, how?
RF: Yes, it’s evolved. And it’s been a natural and organic process. Over the years, I’ve considered how to make each piece of movement more beneficial, while staying true to Joe and Clara’s teaching. I’ve also spent decades refining the use of breath within this system of movement. In general, I found that working from a movement point of view, rather than just exercise, affected so much more of the body, leading to a deeper, more holistic, body awareness.
My approach helped develop that sixth sense of physicality, of simply being physical. There’s also a sensuous aspect to my work – experiencing and feeling how one part of the body affects another. This made each “exercise,” and the approach to the method in general, become a more complete movement experience.
BB: What would you like to share with newer teachers?
RF: Learn the work in your body and know it fully before you teach it. You can’t give away what you haven’t got! Don’t give up on teaching the essence of each movement. I would rather see six pieces taught well and make sense, than twice as many taught in a hurried or mechanical manner.
My primary advice to the newer teachers is to avoid becoming complacent. Find a good teacher and keep studying to get the work deeper into your bones. After 50 years of teaching, I’m still learning. There’s no end to this process. It’s about continuously working towards excellence.
BB: How do you feel about where Pilates is today as an industry?
RF: There are many good teachers in this field and I applaud them. But I still don’t feel we have enough good and experienced educators of this method to pass it on the way I think it should be passed on. Body Contrology is a study. I’m not talking from a pedagogical/ anatomical point of view, but to really understand it and to feel how the body is connected and how to make a full physical statement.
The mind has a great deal to do with it. One has to have a clear image in the mind that’s completely attached to the movement, and then the body follows. It should be done with a certain spirit of joy and delight to fully feel the movement and surrounding space. Breathing is another thing altogether. The intake of breath vitalizes the movement, making it alive, instead of robotic. Constant awareness of breathing, along with the movement is absolutely essential to work the program correctly and to move well.
BB: Tell us about your 90th birthday party.
RF: It was awesome! My dear Kyria (Fletcher Pilates Director of Education Kyria Sabin) and her group put together a wonderful, fantastic event of teaching, learning and celebration. It gave me an opportunity to teach my students from around the world and to focus on the essence of our work. The video compilation Kyria assembled was thrilling and so very touching to a 90-year old man.