Bronwen Healy

Teacher

Bronwen was first introduced to Pilates while studying dance at the University of Iowa. After receiving her BA in Dance and English in 2001, Bronwen moved to San Francisco where she continued to pursue a career in dance and began studying Classical Pilates with Carol Appel. After receiving her Pilates certification in 2002, she taught in SF at Body Kinetics and Pilates on Page where she worked with a wide variety of clientele including pre and post-natal clients, professionals dealing with repetitive stress and seniors with osteoporosis.

In 2005, Bronwen began working at San Francisco Ballet where she continues to teach Pilates to the dancers in the company, helping them to cross-train, manage and recover from injury. She has also worked with the students of Marin Ballet since 2014 and enjoys seeing the strength, stability and confidence Pilates can bring to adolescents. Bronwen lives in San Rafael with her husband and two daughters.

Daniel Case

Teacher

Daniel grew up in Southern California and first experienced Pilates while receiving his BFA in Dance from the University of California Irvine where he studied Pilates with Dianne Diefenderfer. He moved to New York City in 1998 to pursue his career in dance and theater. Some of his theatrical credits while in New York include the long-running off Broadway aerial smash hits “ De La Guarda” and “Fuerza Bruta” as well as “Spider-Man turn off the lights” on Broadway.” 

He was able to use Pilates to keep his body healthy and both prevent injury and manage the minor tweaks while doing extremely strenuous and demanding Aerial theater where injury was all too common. While Performing with “De La Guarda” Daniel received his MFA in acting from the Actors studio at the New school. He was certified in Pilates in 2005 with Jennifer Deluca at Body Tonic in Brooklyn NY, whose Pilates Lineage comes through the legendary Romana Kryzanowska. 

Daniel has had a parallel career of teaching Pilates while continuing his theatrical career. He taught at the Brooklyn Heights Equinox , Living Proof wellness center , the Excelsior club as well as for over 8 years at Sutton place physical therapy in New York where he was a resource for the physical therapists as well as working with clients receiving physical therapy and transitioning out of physical therapy into a continuing Pilates practice to elevate their physical wellness and fitness. Daniel has helped clients recover from all manner of injuries and surgeries from hip replacements to knee replacements and spinal surgeries. In many cases drastically shortening the length of time expected to recover and help clients find a new level of fitness and quality physical freedom. 

Daniel left New York during the Covid lockdown and has continued with many of his clients remotely but is thrilled to be back in California and returning to teaching in person. With over 17 years teaching experience Daniel strongly believes Pilates can improve the physical well-being and physical freedom of anyone. Daniel’s greatest joy as a teacher is to see students surpass what they believed was possible. We are innately athletic. Many of us simply have not nurtured the athlete inside.

Kym Jaros

Teacher

Kym was introduced to Pilates in 2006 after a fall that resulted in cervical surgery.  Her Neurosurgeon recommended Pilates for Rehab to help her with mobility issues. Spinal surgery forever changed her life, however, Pilates gave her the confidence and support to rediscover movement and to approach life in a new way post-surgery.

In March 2020, Kym began studying her full comprehensive classical  training under Sharon Gallagher-Rivera.  Since then, she has taught private apparatus sessions, duets, and classes in Marin County.  

Kym is a dedicated teacher who tailors each session based on the individual’s needs. Her goal is for her clients to walk away from the session learning something new about Pilates and feeling a positive change in their body from the movement.

Kym enjoys sharing her knowledge of classical Pilates method with students of all levels, and can’t wait to share it with you!er.

Tamar Dover

Teacher

Tamar is a compassionate and intuitive teacher who takes a fully integrated mind/body approach to movement, helping her students find ease, feel strong and empowered.

Over her more than 20 years of teaching Pilates, she has worked with people of all ages and abilities and takes a balanced approach to both challenge and support her students. She has spent hundreds of hours expanding her skills, continuing her exploration of movement, anatomy, psychology, nutrition, and spirituality.

Most recently she completed two years in training as a plant based chef at the School of Natural Cookery based in Colorado. She has been teaching Pilates in Marin since 2009, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

When not in the studio, you’ll find Tamar in the kitchen, in dance class, or moving in the great outdoors.

Cristina Alvarez 

Teacher

My beginning in the world of sports and body awareness comes from an accident that affected my lower back, I spent months in rehab. Due to this, I changed my direction to learn more about health and sports. I graduated in 2017 from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain with Sports and Physical Education. In the same year, I also acquired a certification of Personal Training. 

From 2017 to 2021, I taught Mat Pilates in gyms, community centres and as a freelancer. To this day, I still work with clients all over the world as a freelance personal trainer and pilates instructor.

After COVID, I moved from Madrid to Málaga, Spain where I found the next evolution in my pilates career. I entered in the Ernesto Peña Classic Pilates School in 2021 who holds accreditation in the highly regarded certification “THE WORK”, from Vintage Pilates in LA. While I was getting the certification Ernesto offered me a position at his studio as a full time classic pilates instructor. 

Throughout my life I have been drawn to nature and all kinds of physical activities, therefore my favourites involve the natural elements, surfing, snowboarding and climbing. I use pilates to fuel these hobbies. 

So far, the most effective training that I have ever had is Classic Pilates, because it allows me to perform movements and do things I never knew I was capable of. Pilates is empowering, and I continue to learn and grow from my mentors, Ernesto Peña (Director of Ernesto Peña Pilates Studio and School from Spain) and Federico Randazzo (Director of Regional Institute of Classic Pilates in Argentina).

Angela Gifford

Teacher

Angela first became aware of Pilates while in college receiving her B.A. in Dance. After college, she moved to New York City to pursue her dance career. It was there that she joined the New York Guild Certification Program under the tutelage of Joseph Pilates' disciple,
Master Teacher Romana Kryzanowska as well as Bob Likens.

After more than 600 hours of apprenticeship and many rigorous tests she went on to teach at Tribeca Bodyworks in Manhattan. Since leaving New York, Angela has taught in both Newport Beach and Irvine, California as well as guest teaching on Nantucket Island.

Back home in San Francisco, Angela spent 5 years teaching at Golden Gate Pilates before opening Pilates Works in 2007. Angela is proud to be teaching the classical pilates method that Joseph Pilates developed many years ago.

Annie Valdes

Teacher

Annie Valdes is a Balanced Body Certified Comprehensive Pilates Instructor at The Studio Marin. She holds her certification in Contemporary Pilates, but has trained in Classical Pilates at The Studio since 2022 as well as participating in The Studio’s Classical Training Bridge Program. 

She first discovered Pilates in her late teens while practicing Mari Winsor mat programs from home, but also spent years dedicated to yoga, strength training and barre practices. She loves being outdoors, hiking, running and skiing. 

She finds the mind-body connection that Pilates focuses on with coordinated movements and controlled breathing an excellent way to stay physically and mentally strong. In her experience, Pilates is also ideal for injury prevention and recovery. Annie loves connecting with clients to help them meet their goals of strength & flexibility, but finds the inner confidence and centeredness they gain to be the most profound and rewarding part of instructing. 

Annie was born in Panama, but grew up in the Bay Area, lived briefly in Bend, Oregon and now calls Fairfax home. She is a Certified Nutrition Consultant from Bauman College and holds two Bachelors of Sciences in Conservation & Resource Studies from UC Berkekey.
Previous to working in the fitness industry, she worked in Bay Area and Bend, Oregon non profits that focused on food access, nutrition, health and organic agriculture.

When she is not in the studio, you can find her running local trails with her husband and dog, hiking with friends, traveling, enjoying the Bay Area’s many cultural, food and music scenes and dabbling in landscape and interior design.