In May 2023, Jenny Backlund-Jenkins will have the pleasure of welcoming renowned classical Pilates Master Teacher, MeJo Wiggin to Future Form Pilates in Nice, France, for a three day series of amazing workshops.
MeJo is one of the world’s most respected Pilates teachers and this is the first time in her illustrious career that she has ever taught in France, so don’t miss this one-off opportunity.
This workshop programme is open exclusively to comprehensive, fully-certified Pilates teachers and will be taught in English, using classical Gratz equipment.
The programme will start on Friday with a three hour workshop, teaching the often overlooked details of the most commonly taught exercises on the Mat. We will then review how to add the Magic Circle into your Matwork, and incorporate the valuable Arm Weight series. This Arm Weight series, when done properly, will help you with other exercises in the system and can be taught to just about any student.
The Saturday schedule will begin with MeJo teaching a one hour advanced Mat class, covering Joe’s original mat exercises, as taught to MeJo by Romana Kryzanowska.
This Arm Chair, or ‘Baby Chair’, as it was often referred to by Romana, was once the most overlooked piece of apparatus in the studio. Today, with everyone posting videos on social media, anything goes! We are losing sight of its place in the system. Since most of the First Generation teachers did not have an Arm Chair, the Classical exercises on this chair were passed down to us directly from Romana. In order to rehabilitate a neck injury, Romana started teaching MeJo the Arm Chair. Together they used the Arm Chair to strengthen, stretch and rehabilitate her upper back, neck and shoulders. This workshop will cover all of the exercises that Romana taught MeJo on the chair.
Saturday will end with a Q&A session, in which you can put to MeJo all of your questions about the Pilates method, such as ; particular exercises, her work with Romana Kryzanowska, Jay Grimes and Kathy Grant, your challenges with students, the future of Pilates, etc.
The entire Sunday schedule will be dedicated to teaching on the Classical Gratz Reformer, which has been replicated by many other Pilates apparatus manufacturers today. Unfortunately, many of the details of Classical Pilates exercises cannot be executed on these contemporary reformers, due to differences in dimensions and design. This workshop will focus on the most commonly taught exercises on the Gratz Reformer. Get ready to move, and learn how to get the most out of you and your students on the original classical Reformer.
Romana Kryzanowska once likened MeJo executing Joseph Pilates’ original exercises as ‘poetry in motion’, and MeJo was a dedicated student of Romana’s, with whom she became certified as a Level 3 Teacher Trainer, back in 2003.
MeJo would often go to teach Continuing Education at other studios on Romana’s behalf. In addition, as a student of Romana for over 15 years, she was one of her most advanced students, featuring in both of Romana’s DVD series (The Mat and The Legacy Series) and would often teach and demonstrate for Romana’s Pilates CE.
Mejo has been teaching since 1995, and ran a very successful studio in Greenwich, CT where over 450 private lessons a week were being held. MeJo began her study of Pilates with Master Teacher Romana Kryzanowska, in 1990.
She is now recognized as one of the leading Pilates Teacher Trainers and practitioners in the world, and has been sought after by Pilates professionals and fitness studios around the globe to train the next generation of teachers. Since then, she has been sought after for her captivating seminars, throughout the US, Europe, Australia, Russia, South America, and Asia.
Jenny and MeJo have known one-another since 2017, when Jenny became a student of Mejo’s Classical Pilates Syllabus, in order to integrate MeJo’s teachings into the Future Form Classical Pilates Teacher Training Programme. Jenny shares fully in her mentor’s Classical Pilates DNA has retained regular contact with MeJo ever since, as both a regular student and attendee at international workshops. It is thus with great pride and excitement that Future Form Pilates will become the first Pilates studio to bring MeJo to France.
The cost of the full three day workshop is 1,200€ and sign-up is open right now. Places are limited and it is first come, first served, so don’t miss this opportunity!. You can pay and complete your reservation, by following the below link.
There is a strict no-refunds policy, unless the workshop has to be cancelled in advance by Future Form, in which case, a full refund will be issued. Likewise, Future Form cannot be held responsible for the reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses, in the event of the workshop being cancelled.If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Future Form Pilates is situated in a bright and beautiful studio space at 6 rue Massena, just a stone’s throw away from the iconic Place Massena, in the city centre. Nice in May is an absolutely sublime place to visit and flights and quality accommodation options are plentiful. Feel free to ask us for recommendations, or if you have any other questions, regarding coming to Nice.