Craft without compromise.
ABOUT
Meet the Founders.
Our mission is to create a comprehensive training program that is both affordable and practical given the unpredictable nature of being an artist. We want to help dancers develop and teach a skill that complements and enhances their lives.
We are both Pilates Master teachers with more than a century of collective dance and Pilates experience. We believe deeply in the techniques and benefits of Classical Pilates. We have a soft spot for dancers. Pilates changed our lives and we hope to pay it forward.
BARBARA HOON + ALISON JOHNSON
I started doing Pilates at 16 years old, and I swear by it. It’s for EVERYONE! If you are someone who sits behind a desk all day or you’re an athlete or a dancer, it keeps your body in alignment, keeps it leaner, stronger, stretched and healthier. It has saved me all these years. I practice these days at The Pilates Room NYC. Barbara Hoon and Alison Johnson are both incredible teachers.
—Charlotte d’Amboise, Broadway Performer
Barbara Hoon
Barbara Hoon is the founder of Six Degrees Pilates. Barbara began practicing Pilates as a dancer at The Juilliard School, and continued training while performing as an original member of the renowned company, Twyla Tharp Dance. She also performed in several Broadway shows including Singin’ in the Rain, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, and national tours of West Side Story, as well as films and television. Barbara continued her formal training of the work with renowned NYC Pilates instructor Patrick Strong, along with Kathryn Ross-Nash.
Barbara attributes Pilates to preventing any injuries and maintaining her physical and mental strength during her many years as a dancer.
Barbara believes that everyone has the ability to find more strength, flexibility, and confidence through Pilates, regardless of age or physical condition.
She was fortunate to have also trained with Dancers for PD (Dancers for Parkinson’s) and is currently on staff teaching Pilates at the New Jersey School of Ballet.
Alison Johnson
Alison Johnson began her Pilates training as a dancer in 1994 while attending Stephens College. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance in 1997, which included a comprehensive curriculum of anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. Alison went on to receive her certification in the Classical Pilates Method in 1998 through The Pilates Guild, studying under the late Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens, both of whom shaped what the world knows as “Classical Pilates.”
Alison’s teaching style has grown with life experience and 26 years of teaching. She has had the opportunity to fine-tune her approach to working with people with a variety of issues and goals, including autoimmune disorders, cancer treatments, recovery from a specific injury, seniors, and overall healthy individuals looking to improve their fitness abilities. In addition to having two children by cesarean section, she has worked with many women preparing for pregnancy, going through pregnancy, and recovering from childbirth.
She continues to love helping people feel better as they grow stronger and more confident in the way they approach movement and life.
As a former Broadway dancer and present Broadway/ West End choreographer, I know how important it is to maintain one’s physical and mental abilities. I have known, adored and respected Barbara Hoon since the beginning of time. We met on Jerome Robbins Broadway and became instant friends. Barbara and her knowledge of the body along with her historical knowledge of Pilates, can benefit any young dancer. She is truly incredible, and I can say that as a friend and colleague.
—JoAnn M. Hunter, Dancer and Choreographer
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