Maria Sasaki

I was first introduced to the Pilates method at the age of 13, when I sustained a knee injury while dancing. During the rehabilitation process, I felt the power that this particular method had on my body. From that time onwards and throughout my career at the Royal Ballet, the Pilates exercises were a part of my daily training.

Through Pilates, I learned how to protect my body from injury and how to strengthen it to improve my technical abilities as a dancer.

I was very fortunate to be trained as a Pilates instructor by the leading expert Dreas Reyneke in his studio in Notting Hill. He taught me invaluable lessons on his very unique way to adapt the Pilates technique to everybody’s needs and capabilities.

I qualified as a Pilates instructor in 2000, working for the following two years in his prestigious studio where I deepened my skills as a teacher. I have since had two children and, although I interrupted my work to be a full-time mum, my daily training has continued and has helped me to get back into shape.