Kathy Stanford Grant

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 Kathy was my personal mentor.  My introduction to  the Pilates technique  was through her as an injured dancer.  Her brilliant approach to the  work fostered my interest in the rehabilitative aspects of the  technique.  I owe so much of the way I work to her.
 

Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Ms. Grant’s work in the  Pilates field spanned five decades, during which time she developed an  entire body of “pre-Pilates” exercises, as well as creative  rehabilitation exercises for her injured dancers and clients.  Prior to  her Pilates career, Ms. Grant was a vibrant dancer.
 

As a black woman growing up in the arts she overcame many obstacles (she  was required to take her own personal/segregated ballet classes as a  child at the Boston Conservatory of Music). She was a part of a great  entertainment era in Harlem in the 40's, as a dancer she preformed with  Cab Calloway, Pearl Bailey. She worked as a chorus girl at New York’s  famous Zanzibar Club.  Her dance career was tremendously varied,  including Broadway, off Broadway, television, industrials, touring  companies and the concert stage in the US and abroad. She performed with  Carmen De Lavallade, Paul Taylor, Geoffrey Holder, Bill Robinson. She  was an assistant choreographer to Donald McKayle, Arthur Mitchell at  Dance Theater of Harlem and helped choreograph the movie The Cotton  Club. Kathy however is far better known throughout the world for her  ingeniousness that she brought to the Pilates community.
 

Ms. Grant began teaching Pilates in 1957; first working for Carola Trier  and later taking over the Pilates studio at Henri Bendel’s Department  Store in New York City. Since 1988 Kathy had been an Adjunct Faculty  member at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she  taught the dance students her ingenious mixture of pure Pilates and her  own movement-based work.
 

She was one of two individuals to have ever been certified by Mr.  Pilates through the NY State Education Department. She took his work and  brought it to another level, finding interest in the rehabilitation  potential of the work far before the medical world caught on to the  technique.
 

She was internationally sought out as a speaker for Pilates conventions.  She was an incredibly humble and modest woman. She was enormously  generous with her time and knowledge and your 'hour' appointment was  often 2-2.5 hours.  She will be missed. 

For more information on Kathy go to: www.kathygrantpilates.com