Founded: 1990
Owners: Amy Taylor Alpers and Rachel Taylor Segel
Address: 5500 Flatiron Parkway, Suite 110, Boulder
Phone: 303-494-3400
Web site: thePilatescenter.com
As Pilates grows in popularity, The Pilates Center in Boulder continues to expand.
The center was founded in 1990 by sisters Amy Taylor Alpers and Rachel Taylor Segel, who were both trained in New York at The Pilates Studio and were certified by Romana Kryzanowska, a direct successor to the classical tradition of creator Joseph Pilates.
The owners, both of whom have extensive training in ballet dance, cite their backgrounds as professional dance teachers as one of the key reasons they were able to teach body movements and create a formal technique structure.
Pilates, according to the sisters, is similar to a Western form of yoga. Similar to its Eastern cousin, the fitness-based system created in Germany by Joseph Pilates focuses on the mind and body, and health on every level — through detoxification and control of the muscles. The technique has gained popularity in the United States in recent years, with many more studios popping up across the county.
Samantha Waller, a Pilates instructor who has been associated with the Boulder center since 2001, shared her opinions of the owners’ philosophy and techniques: “They see into a body, and that’s how they teach — they (the studio) know what to speak to.”
The studio is client-based with beginners, children, seniors and physically injured clients. It also offers a licensed Pilates teacher training program, allowing trainers to work with and observe clients.
“We have very clear and high expectations of what a good Pilates teacher should be, and what a good studio should look like,” Segal said.
The studio has matured to accommodate its growing business in the last 20 years, with changes including a larger studio and opening Pilates centers in six cities, including Vancouver, British Columbia; Dubai; and Los Angeles.
“It’s a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere,” said Cole Weaver, a receptionist who has worked at the center since last year.
Kirsti Heiskanen, a client who came from Switzerland to study Pilates, said that the long journey was well-worth it.
“I think the best aspect of this place is that they’ve created a wonderful learning environment. It’s very supportive, friendly and uplifting,” she said.
The center, although run by the two sisters, has not been subjected to any outsides tensions.
“I’d say in the last 20 years, we’ve gotten into three fights,” joked Alpers, elaborating that their partnership was based off the same standards of quality and the same mission.
“We are different people, but we love each other and share the same vision. We’ve weathered all the changes together, and we anticipate weathering another 20 years more,” said Alpers, who is six years younger than Segel.
The Pilates Center attributes its successful business to staying current with the times, and holding true to the same technique that they were taught by Kryzanowsa.
“We learn all the time,” said Segel, “from each other, from clients, from students … it’s developed our ways of teaching of getting what we want, and therefore the clients make progress faster.”