Teachers & Master Teachers

I would like to initiate this section by thanking all my teachers, for their dilligence and support as well as for entrusting me with their knowledge over the course of my studies. This part of this site is dedicated to them. We will present here Romana Kryzanowska, Sari Mejia-Santo, Juanita Lopez and Amy de Sa. I would like to thank all teachers as well as my students and clients that I 've encountered so far in my Pilates journey. Please check on our Resources section for information on other teachers and schools.

Sincerely,

Melanie Berios

Romana Kryzanowska

She was a young dancer at the School of American Ballet, and after an injury she followed the recommendation of choreographer George Ballanchine to go see Joseph Pilates. From that moment she stayed on, studied the method and taught alongside Joe and Clara staying closely involved with their teachings.

After Joe's death Clara Pilates asked Romana Kryzanowska to carry on the tradition of teaching the method. For over fifty years Romana Kryzanowska has taught, lectured and demonstrated throughout the united States and the world. In her eighties now, much like Joseph Pilates himself, she continues her path with the true method of Pilates along with her daughter Sari Mejia-Santo and her grandaughter Daria Pace, in Romana's Pilates , where they carry on the legacy entrusted to her by the Pilates family. Romana with her family and her following of some of the most knowledgeable and talented Pilates teachers aspire to grow her school by training competent instructors through her rigorous and comprehensive certification program.

Sari Mejia-Santo

Sari, Mejia Santo is Romana's daughter. She was born in Peru. She emigrated to the United States where she beganher career in dance at the School of American Ballet. Her talent for choreography led her to tour with the Goldovsky Opera company as a choreographer and a soloist. From the age of nine, Sari Santo has stuied and performed the method developed by Joseph Pilates. As a young girl she assisted Joseph pilates in his studio, until she graduated to teaching under Joseph's watchful eye. Currently Sari is the master teacher of the certification seminars in Romana's Pilates which she owns and operates along with her mother and her daughter.

Juanita Lopez

As a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer at Northwestern University, Illinois, and the Evanston School of Ballet, Juanita Lopez began her study of the Pilates method in 1988. She has since been a Teacher of Teachers in Evanston working closely with Romana and Sari, and teaching many of the certification seminars. She has developed a private practice with a variety of clientele including those with special needs or conditions.

Amy de Sa

Amy de Sa, owner of Pilates Denver, is a Certified Pilates Instructor from the Pilates Studio of the Midwest, under the training and personal supervision of Romana Kryzanowska. She holds a BA in Dance and a BA in Psychology from Hope College in Michigan. Amy began her pilates endeavors in Chicago in 1994 where she received her certification and instructed at and managed Body Balance, a highly recognized Pilates studio. Amy also has additional Pilates and movement training and certifications from the Pilates Center of Boulder, the Pilates Studio of Seattle, the PhysicalMind Institute, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago in conjunction with the Performing Artists Medicine Association and the Manual Therapy Seminars of Colorado. Her professional affiliations include, the Pilates Method Alliance, Pilates, Inc., PhysicalMind Institute and IDEA Health and Fitness, Inc. She also currently dances with the Hannah Kahn Dance Company.