This review is specifically for the instructor, Nancy Bright, and not a reflection of the different instructors or this studio as a whole, as the studio owner, Alia, followed up with me on this.
My friend and I recently attended a Reformer 1/2 class with Nancy Bright and left feeling humiliated and embarrassed. She was aggressive and dismissive, especially toward students unfamiliar with classical pilates, but familiar with contemporary pilates, which she deems as "not real pilates." Instructions were not explained, and solely used terminology. When we didn't immediately understand, she scolded us, showed frustration, and PHYSICALLY FORCED our bodies into the positions she wanted. These positions were often uncomfortable and borderline painful, with no attempts or offers of modifications. She even made a remark that she knew she was "manhandling" us.
Egregiously, when she was unhappy with my plank and was frustrated, I did not understand how she wanted me to fix it, she SLAPPED MY BUTT REPEATEDLY and repeated what she wanted me to do as if that would suddenly make me understand. She even admitted to slapping previous students' butts to "get their attention."
As someone new to Pilates, I felt unsafe, embarrassed, and extremely humiliated.
I had high expectations based on positive reviews, but this experience has left me so unsettled that I will not be returning. read more