GRATZ GALLERY | CHRISTINA MARIA GADAR
Image courtesy of Christina Maria Gadar
THE SWAN | LADDER (FULL) BARREL
"The Swan on the Ladder Barrel limbers the spine, opens the chest and works the breath. After the first backbend, we squeeze the seat, push through the feet and zip up the inner thighs in order to levitate over the barrel. Creating one long line from the finger tips to the toes involves tremendous strength through the powerhouse.
The Gratz difference: I like to use the top bolt closet to the ladder rungs (on the side of the barrel) as a guide when setting up my students for the Swan. For most students, if their hips line up with that top bolt at the start of the exercise, it positions their belly button right over the crest of the barrel, creating the perfect starting position." - Christina Maria Gadar
About Christina Maria Gadar
A dual citizen of Brazil and the United States, Christina Maria Gadar is a New York certified Pilates instructor, having completed rigorous training under master teacher Romana Kryzanowska (who was personally trained by Joseph Pilates). She is the author of Pilates An Interactive Workbook, a timeless guide to classical Pilates, and is in the process of writing her second Pilates book, a teacher’s guide for working with young children.
Christina was introduced to the Pilates matwork at the age of fifteen while a student at the Boston Ballet. During her ballet training she was coached privately for six years by world-renowned premier danseur Fernando Bujones and had the honor of performing the solo “Raio de Luz” which he choreographed especially for her. She also studied extensively with Madame Tatiana Legat of Russia and Li-Chou Cheng of China. After receiving dance scholarships from the Massachusetts Arts Council and the School of the Boston Ballet, she went on to dance professionally with BalletMet under the direction of John McFall, Columbia City Ballet, and the Sarasota Ballet of Florida where she met her husband Filipp Gadar.
While dancing with the Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Christina started the Pilates apparatus work with Kathy Dandois-Boivin. Ten years after her initial introduction to the Pilates Method she began her Pilates certification under the tutelage of certified teacher trainer Roxane Richards-Huang before obtaining full certification directly from grand master instructor Romana Kryzanowska in New York in 2000. In addition to yearly continuing education seminars, she makes it a priority to study privately with master teachers. She has worked privately with all four Pilates grand master instructors in the world (Romana Kryzanowska and Sari Mejia-Santo of New York, Juanita Lopez of Illinois and Cynthia Lochard of Australia). In addition to the grand master teachers, she has studied privately with master teachers Anthony Rabara, Cynthia Shipley, Jerome Weinberg, Lori Coleman Brown, Roxane Richards-Huang, and Janice Dulak.
Christina has resided in Sarasota since 1996 and has been specializing in private instruction of the original Pilates Method since 2000. She enjoys the balancing act of running her Pilates practice with the highest standards, while staying actively involved in the lives of her family, including her two children.
Christina Maria Gadar | Gadar Pilates
www.pilatespersonaltraining.com
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