Romana Kryzanowska (1923 – 2013)
Maintaining the Integrity and Spirit of Pilates
by Amy Taylor Alpers
Romana Kryzanowska loved life, and she lived a full, rich, colorful, satisfying, adventurous one, always surrounded by family, friends and students. She was part “American Annie Oakley”, part “Russian prima ballerina”, part “Peruvian shepherdess”, and part “elegant European grande dame” – and she always had a twinkle in her eye! And, if possible, a glass of sparkling champagne in her hand! And for Joseph Pilates, she was part dutiful daughter, part muse, part assistant, part workhorse, and ultimately, torchbearer and keeper of the flame.
When Joseph Pilates died in 1967, Romana, who was one of his lifelong students, stepped in to help his widow, Clara, run the studio. When Clara died 10 years later, Romana took over the business. And there she stayed, teaching students and teachers by the hour, and later she traveled the world teaching workshops and directing her own teacher training programs, until she retired in her late 80’s. She inspired an entire generation of hundreds upon hundreds of amazing Pilates teachers, who continue her legacy and that of Joseph Pilates.
Romana always said, “I’m not a creator – I just teach what ‘Uncle Joe’ taught me.” And that was her enduring commitment – to maintain the original integrity and spirit of Joseph Pilates’ method.
Romana was born in Farmington, MI, near Detroit, on June 30, 1923. Both of her parents, Sari and Roman Kryzanowski, were artists – her father’s work even hung in the Detroit Museum of Art – and they instilled a life-long love of the arts in their daughter. When she was very young, her father died and her mother then moved them to her sister’s orange plantation near the Florida Everglades. Romana loved to tell the story of having been given a pistol as a gift when she was still quite young so she could protect herself from the alligators and panthers nearby. It’s a perfect image as Romana herself was quite a pistol!
In the mid-1930s, she and her mother moved back to Detroit where Romana started ballet. Soon after, they relocated to New York City and Romana enrolled in George Balanchine’s ballet school. She often recalled how much Balanchine loved her Russian name! In 1941, she developed a bone chip in her ankle and Mr. Balanchine took her to see Mr. Pilates. Balanchine felt Pilates was “a genius of the body” who, years later, also helped his wife, Tanaquil LeClerc, after she was struck with polio. Mr. Pilates told her, “I can fix your ankle in 5 sessions or your money back!” And he did. From that moment on, she was a lifelong advocate. She said he gave her an advanced workout on the very first day, including the ‘star’ exercise. Eventually she became a “helper”, at which point she didn’t have to pay anymore, she liked to say with a grin, and that was the beginning of her long and illustrious teaching career.
In 1944, when she was just 21 years old, she was swept off her feet and whisked away to Peru by the handsome, wealthy Peruvian “Alpaca King”, Pablo Mejia. There she lived a life that was half aristocratic lady of the estate and half mountain shepherdess, tending alpaca at 14,000 feet in the Andes. Her two children, Paul and Sari (whom Joe called “his Pilates babies”), were born in Peru. He had special child-size springs made and sent to them. Throughout her time in Peru, Romana taught “Contrology” to friends and family, and stayed in touch with “Uncle” Joe and Clara.
Political unrest combined with the death of her beloved husband led Romana to return to New York City with her children in 1958. While carrying her daughter one day, she fell into an open manhole and badly damaged her knee. That sent her right back to Mr. Pilates, and she never left again. During this time, she also worked for Carola Trier, another student of Pilates who had opened her own studio, and was a dear friend and co-worker of Kathy Grant’s there.
Although the influence of another love of her life, classical ballet, colored her style and slipped into the exercises here and there, she always said, “Mr. Pilates was a genius,” and vowed to continue his work exactly as he had created it. She felt very strongly that if you thought you were a genius too and therefore wanted to create your own movement system, you should simply name it after yourself instead of calling it “Pilates”.
My sister, Rachel Taylor Segel, and I started studying with Romana in early 1987 at The Pilates Studio in New York City. She was exactly our mother’s age and she reminded us of every wonderful ballet mistress and teacher we’d ever had, so there was an immediate connection. She felt very much like “home” to us. We studied with her for three years in New York City, following her to three different locations as the studio moved, ultimately settling at Drago’s Gym, where it remains today. With her inspiration, guidance and support, we founded The Pilates Center and The Pilates Center Teacher Training Program in Boulder, CO in 1990. She continued to work with us, coming out to Boulder to teach our program, through August 1993 when various legal issues prevented her return. Through working with her for nearly seven years, she changed our lives forever. And our commitment is still to her and to sharing what she so generously gave to us.
I couldn’t be more excited to be teaching a sold-out workshop that includes a special session honoring her work and legacy at InMo Medveten Träning in Stockholm on Saturday May 20, 2017. I hope you have signed up to join us to understand and feel the power of her commitment to teaching Pilates as “Uncle Joe” taught her. Here is the description of that special session:
Saturday 10:00 am – 1:30 pm
A Tribute to Romana’s Matwork
In this workshop, we will explore Romana’s style and approach to teaching Pilates with a focus on many of her wonderful partnering techniques. Come prepared to move. That’s what Romana was all about. She wanted you to move and to feel good doing so. She loved to give her students and clients “the candy” as she called it. These were her manual partnering and supporting tools that helped her students experience the ultimate feeling she wanted them to have, as well as to get the freedom, strength and personal empowerment the exercises needed. From lifts to stretches to massages, she was committed that you love how Pilates made you feel. It should put a smile on your face and a skip in your step, she believed. And you should never need a regular massage since Pilates should do that for you. “Did you learn something? Do you feel good?” were her parting words as you left the studio refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to face the world. What could be better?
Amy Taylor Alpers co-founded The Pilates Center (TPC) and The Pilates Center Teacher Training Program (TPCTTP) over 20 years ago in Boulder, Colorado. When not traveling the world to teach both foundational and graduate level Pilates teacher education she remains part of the core faculty for TPCTTP, mentors advanced teachers, teaches classes and sees clients. In addition to teaching TPC sponsored workshops, Amy has presented numerous times at the Pilates Method Alliance Annual Meeting, Balanced Body’s Pilates on Tour and Passing the Torch. In 2013, Amy presented at the Shared Traditions Conference for Fletcher Pilates and will present at The Pilates Roundtable.
Amy was born in Youngstown, Ohio where she began classical ballet at age two.
She attended The Juilliard School for Dance, danced with the Garden State Ballet in New Jersey, and received a B.A. in Dance and a M.A. in Dance History from New York University. In addition, Amy taught ballet at various dance schools in New York City for ten years before launching her Pilates career.
Both Amy and her sister Rachel studied Pilates under the direct tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska at the original Pilates Studio in New York City. They received their Pilates teaching certificate from there in July of 1989. In 1990, after moving to Boulder, Colorado, Amy and Rachel founded The Pilates Center. The sisters then created and established The Pilates Center Teacher Training Program in 1991. The school has since expanded to include an Intermediate Program, Advanced Program, Bridge Program, Master’s Program, and a Mentorship Program. In addition, TPC now has “Licensed” and “Host” studios established all around the world.
Amy and her sister wrote The Everything Pilates Book, published in 2002. She was a founding board member of the PMA and sat on the board that created the PMA Certification Exam. Recently she has also had the honor of filming classes and workshops for online organizations such as Pilates Anytime and Pilates On Demand.
In 2011, Amy, her sister Rachel, and Ken Endelman of Balanced Body, developed CenterLine – a line of equipment designed for classical Pilates and based upon the specifications pioneered by Joseph Pilates.