Kerry Shea Pilates

It is an honor and delight to be a Pilates Mentor of New York. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Instagram live discussions, my 3 hour Foot Health Workshop and the magic circle class. The students were so engaged, asked great questions, and were all around wonderful to teach. Special thanks to Yoshi for organizing all of the PMONY events.

私のクラスに参加してくださってありがとうございました。

It was fun teaching the School of American Ballet Juniors Program! These young dancers got an inside look at what it’s like to train at SAB. During our Pilates classes, they experienced the attention to detail and fine tuning that are at the heart of our work. Ultimately, this enhances their ballet technique and gives way for more artistic expression. Thank you dancers for coming to Juniors week!

Happy Workshop Day, dancers! It has been such an honor to work alongside you this year. Thank you for your hard work, focus, and unwavering commitment to your artistry. We are so proud of everything you have achieved and can’t wait to celebrate you today. Shine bright and enjoy every moment!

Special shout out to my colleague . Thank you for welcoming me open arms to SAB! It has been an incredible year co-teaching and collaborating with this brilliant, talented and all around awesome woman. I am lucky to be so inspired everyday by my colleagues!

There is so much excitement in the air for retirement performance this Sunday! To say she will be greatly missed is an understatement. Principal dancer, mother of three, MBA graduate, author…the list goes on for this real-life superwoman.

We had our final Pilates session today before her farewell performance. While Megan remained focused until the very end, I found myself feeling nostalgic- reflecting on how much she has improved over the years and what a joy it has been to work with her. As a fellow mom, I have been continually inspired by how beautifully she manages everything on her plate.

I first saw Megan when she was a student at the Ballet West Conservatory. The conservatory shared studio space with the University of Utah’s dance program, and I remember leaving rehearsals and watching her through the studio window, thinking she was a teenage prodigy.

Fast forward nearly thirty years, and we met for the first time at the Kennedy Center for a Pilates session. I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous to work with her, but I was immediately put at ease by how down-to-earth, kind, funny, and deeply committed to the work she was. Over the next four years, Megan remained incredibly disciplined with Pilates, no matter what life brought her way. Whether in Hawaii, Vermont, France, Hungary, or Utah, she always made time to meet virtually and put in the work.

What has always impressed me most is that she never relied solely on her extraordinary talent, she continually worked to refine her instrument and craft.

Megan, you will be successful in whatever comes next. It has been an honor to work with you, and I cannot wait to cheer you on in this next chapter.

The dancers have been putting in the work all week as they prepare for Workshop. By Friday Pilates, with the week’s workload and fatigue in mind, I love to shake things up- wake up the nervous system, move differently, and have a little fun. Nothing better than seeing dancers smiling while still training smart. ✨

The SAB dancers are in the thick of rehearsals for Workshop! At the start of this intensive rehearsal period, the SAB Physical Health and Wellness team met with the dancers to help prepare and support them through the demands of the season.

We discussed self-care techniques, the importance of recovery, avoiding overtraining, fueling and hydrating and honoring the body’s need for rest. Our Pilates team also encouraged dancers to review their choreography and identify areas that feel especially challenging or may be causing discomfort, so we can help develop strategies to make movement feel safer, more efficient, and sustainable.

We also talked about how dancers can fall into repetitive movement patterns during rehearsal periods. For example, when choreography repeatedly demands the same leg for arabesques day after day and how important it is to recognize and address these patterns to help support longevity and reduce injury risk.

So proud of these dancers for taking ownership of their health and training. They’ve been showing up on the 6th floor and truly investing in their well-being- some in ways they hadn’t before, and others with a more mature, proactive approach. They are learning to train smart, and it’s wonderful to see.

Pre-professional dancers, don’t forget to get re-fitted for your ballet and pointe shoes. During growth spurts, changes can happen quickly and often go unnoticed. A proper fit not only feels better, it can help prevent unnecessary injuries.

Nearly every other week, a dancer comes to me concerned about foot or Achilles pain, worried it may be something serious. When we take a closer look, the issue is simply that they’ve outgrown their shoes. What feels like a major problem can turn out to have a straightforward solution.

In the first video, you’ll notice the dancer’s toes are already compressed just standing in the shoes and even more so in plié. If you look closely, the tops of the feet are under strain, and alignment is compromised. Once he was properly fitted in a new pair, the pain resolved.