Issue #373 – Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Pat Guyton Remembers Bruce King
“Movement in correct alignment produces correct muscular development.” Bruce King
As students we meet our teachers at one point in their teaching life. We are influenced by our teachers and by their practice of Pilates. Each of our teachers are also informed by their lives as humans. We meet them at our point in time and that is our experience. This is my story about a teacher who touched me, Bruce King, whom I hosted in 1988 at my studio, The Center Works in Boulder, Colorado.
Bruce King was born in California. He studied at the University of California and New York University. As a dancer, he was a member of the Merce Cunningham Company and The Alwin Nikolais Company. He studied dance with Hanya Holms and Martha Graham. Bruce formed, The Bruce King Dance Company during the 1970” s.
Bruce was a student of movement that began with Joseph Pilates. He has suffered a knee injury and like many dancers he was sent to Joe. Bruce is recognized as one of the First-Generation teachers of Pilates because he studied Contrology with Joe and Clara Pilates. This inspired a lifelong quest of human movement principles. He opened his Pilates studio in New York City in the 1970’s. His personal research was influenced by the writings of Mabel Ellsworth Todd and Lulu Sweigard. In 1991 he authored Bruce King’s Rule of The Bones: Exercise Theory and Program for Correct Body Usage.
After opening his own studio, he continued to dance and had his own dance company. Bruce was a teacher for the National Endowment for the Arts from 1974 – 1977 and was an invited guest at the University of Iowa in 1976. I attended his classes. There was something very different about his style of teaching and his energy. Bruce had a gentle but determined voice as he presented fundamental skills with care and precision. He made corrections to assist rather than chide. It was as if he wanted us to improve and to succeed. He introduced a pattern, moving across the floor doing something called a “step – hop”. His focus was not just the foot and the leg, but rather the whole body in alignment. It was deceptively simple and challenging. This was fundamental movement done with precision, awareness, control and joy. He never mentioned Pilates. I never forgot that experience.
In 1984, Pilates reformers made a debut in Boulder, Colorado. Teachers today have many opportunities to study at comprehensive programs. At that time there were no schools. Most learned by finding someone who knew something. We would trade exercises to expand our knowledge. Bruce King’s dance partner lived in Boulder. In retrospect, I think she understood that there was a need for someone to bring the truth of Pilates. Boulder was and is a mecca for exercise. At that time professional athletes were excited for a new cross training edge, but they infused the discipline, such as it existed in Boulder, with their “spontaneous zest” for more aerobics and endurance. When Bruce arrived, I think he must have needed to bite his tongue and open his heart.
King was not an uncommon name, and neither was Bruce. I did not connect the dots. However, when he stepped in the door of The Center Works and I heard his voice, I was astounded. It was THE Bruce King that inspired me in the dance class in Iowa. As he began to teach, it was clear that his dance reflected Pilates, and his dance informed his Pilates. The one quality that radiated was his humanity, and his unbounded, unconditional acceptance, of everyone just as they were.
One story that Bruce shared about his time with Joe involved his study of Pilates. Joe told him that if he wanted to do Contrology, he must come to the studio three times a week. Bruce explained that he was a dancer and had obligations. Joe capitulated and said that if he only came twice a week, he could only do the beginning exercises. This basic program was what Bruce did for five years until Joe finally relented and said that he could move forward. What I heard was that Bruce was committed. He dug deep and found richness within the basics. He studied, he listened to his body, and he practiced Pilates. Today many of us teach Pilates. The question for each of us would be how often do we perform our own practice? Have we spent our five years of awareness within the method?
When Brett asked me to share about Bruce King, I wanted the essence of his work to be appreciated. While there is much contention about the rightness or wrongness of Pilates approaches, it is important to hear his message and to remember that this was his experience. Current events urgently press us to be human. It our duty to become inclusive and to embrace our differences. Bruce was a gay man at a time when his choice of whom to love was not accepted. He died of AIDS in 1993. Like Bruce the Pilates community could invite and enjoy the richness of inclusion of everyone. Is it too much to ask that we find a little space for another way to do the Knee Stretch?
Bruce Talking About How He Teaches:
“I made my choice. I go very slowly. I go very carefully. I think you need this to make progress. I think that, but not everybody agrees with me. Life is full of choices and that is one of the things that is really nice about life, is that you have more choices than most people think they have. And you can determine many of the things in your life simply by saying “I would rather do this than that”.
LONG SPINE STRETCH – “Keep the neck long and relaxed
”.THE TWIST “The spine moves the carriage, and the neck and head follow the spine”
KNEE STRETCH: “The pelvis is placed by the stomach muscles pulling the waist in…the back gets longer…as the knees go backward and forward, the pelvis should not change position. If I go too far back or too far in, I will lose the position.”
Pat Guyton has been teaching Pilates for over 33 years. She began her movement career as a modern dancer and later was a gymnastic choreographer and USGF sanctioned coach. Pat discovered Pilates in 1984 and began her mentorship.
Pat was privileged to have taken workshops with First Generation Teachers: Kathy Grant, Lolita San Miguel, Mary Bowen, Bruce King and Ron Fletcher. This experience has provided a view of the diversity of the lineages and the value that each of these teachers contributed to the evolution of the Pilates Method.
Pat studied with Ron Fletcher in depth. In 1995, she met and mentored with him by traveling to his workshops. Ron granted Pat permission to codify his work in 1998 and she served as his assistant at workshops. In 2000 he awarded her a Master Teacher Certificate of Merit of The Ron Fletcher Work.
Ron Fletcher was improvisational in his teaching. He was able analyze what the class needed within the first few minutes. He developed his unique style and additions of elements to his teaching. Those who traveled with him were able to see him choreograph and refine a new moment in the moment. This environment has informed Pat to be open to see what a client or class needs and to adapt for the individual.
Pat lives in Boulder was employed at Boulder Osteopathic Center as a registered physical medicine assistant in Colorado for ten years. This position offered her the opportunity to work with a variety of patients who needed exercise programs tailored for individual rehabilitation. The experience also fostered the coordination of Pilates with other health care professionals for the benefit of the client or patient. She has presented Pilates at numerous medical conferences.
Pat is the founder and owner of Pat Guyton Pilates Conservatory®, which offers mentorship programs, continuing education and a comprehensive teacher training program and she has a fully equipped studio in Boulder, CO.
Pat is a Franklin Method® Educator, Level III. Her style of teaching emphasizes functional anatomy and imagery to provide a safe and healthy exercise environment. Her clients range from those who are recovering from injury, people of all ages who seek increased health and vitality, and professional athletes.
Pat is a PMA Certified Pilates Teacher and a PMA CEC Provider. She has served on the Pilates Method Alliance Board of Directors from 2002 – 2008. She teaches Pilates workshops and Franklin Method® workshops nationally and internationally. Pat is a Distinguished Teacher for Pilates Anytime. Pat has authored Stretch Out Strap Shoulder Girdle and Arm Work.
Pat has a mission. Legacy is the generous communication of information for the next generation of Pilates teachers. The purpose is to develop the teacher in each who share the passion for Pilates. Through this next generation, the work will be passed to all who study to promote health and vitality. Teaching is a service to others.