Ballet class with women practicing at barre and instructor observing

A Pilates instructor guiding a woman through a reformer exercise in a fitness studio.

Woman exercising on a Pilates reformer machine in a gym with mirrored walls.

A person standing in a dance studio, smiling, wearing a white 'Ballet 314' t-shirt. Another person is visible in the background through a mirror.

Four women in colorful and black outfits performing handstands and posing near green couches, with concrete flooring and plain walls in the background.

Smiling woman with long hair and earrings wearing a black tank top against a neutral background.

A woman poses next to a colorful chalk mural on a black wall, depicting a landscape with a large butterfly, flowers, trees, and words like 'confidence' and 'creativity.' The mural includes clouds and a detailed nature scene.

Ballerina in white dress performing on pointe with a colorful background.

Person performing a plank exercise on a Pilates reformer, one leg raised, wearing floral leggings and a pink sports bra, in a studio setting.

Woman in black tank top smiling against a plain background

Meet Our Dance & Pilates Instructors

**Rachel Marie Brown**, is a versatile dancer who teaches many dance styles including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, and contemporary dance. A native of Indianapolis, Rachel took her first dance class at age three and trained rigorously for most of her life. She has taught children, teens, and adults since 2011. Rachel earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ball State University in 2013 after which she received the amazing opportunity to attend Alonzo King Lines Ballet Summer Intensive in San Francisco. After a couple years of teaching competitive dance, she moved to Saint Louis to become a member of Common Thread Contemporary Ballet and in 2020, she became a certified GYROTONIC® instructor. Rachel is also a licensed massage therapist who administers Thai bodywork and trigger point therapy (also known as Coaching the Body®), therapeutic table massage, and ashiatsu massage. Rachel dances with Collective Motion, Central Studio’s non-profit dance company, and owns her own business called Un-Thai’d in which she offers her diverse range of services. Rachel has a passion for sharing her knowledge of dance and the body and she gains much fulfillment from helping people become healthier versions of themselves. She is grateful to have been a part of Central Studio since 2016!

**Lisa LeMasters** received her Pilates certification from Core Dynamics and has been teaching Pilates since 2005. She began studying Pilates in 1999 with Melissa at the suggestion of a ballet instructor as a way to strengthen her dancing. In 2003, Lisa replaced her weekly ballet lessons with Pilates due to chronic tendonitis. Her injuries began to heal immediately and she was hooked! Lisa now continues to study ballet and began to teach Pilates to share the benefits she experienced. Lisa is also a registered architect and company manager/performer for Pages to Pirouettes, a not-for-profit dance company dedicated to bringing the art of story ballet to children of all ages.

**Rachel Klaus** is an aerial silks, lyra, and trapeze instructor.

**Rita Foster** is certified by ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association) as a personal trainer and nutritionist. She is a former competitive bodybuilder and marathon runner. She loves to travel and has done so extensively during her career in the airline industry. Rita is currently completing the comprehensive training program through Core Dynamics Pilates, in the Eve Gentry lineage. She views classical Pilates to be the ultimate form of exercise for total health and fitness.

**Rita Chu** (she/her) is an apprentice Pilates teacher through the Core Dynamics program. She has a master’s degree in economics from New York University, where she was also a member of the tennis team. Since 2014, Rita has dedicated herself to Pilates. She is thrilled to begin her next phase of teaching this transformative movement framework to other curious souls. As you move across the apparatuses and exercises, Rita-ism’s will abound as you work together shaping your Pilates practice. When Rita is not flowing at a Pilates studio, she is number crunching at her day job, paddling down (or sometimes up) an American river with her camera, and living life with family and friends.

**Marcela Gómez Lugo** was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She began her pre-professional ballet training at the age of 14 at Andanza School of Dance. In 2019, she graduated, with the highest academic honors, from Mercyhurst University with a BFA in Dance: with minors in Dance Pedagogy and Psychology. After moving to St Louis, MO, Marcela joined The Big Muddy Dance Company Trainee Program (2019-2020). Currently, Marcela is a 4th season company member with Ballet 314. She is also a guest choreographer and Executive Assistant for Ballet 314. Marcela’s passion for the performing arts, education, and writing has led her to design dance curriculums and be an educational dance consultant. It is her goal to be an accessible guide to the world of ballet.

**Mary Ellen Bryan’s** movement career began in 1987 studying ballet under the Royal Academy of Dance technique, which led her to a professional dance and choreographic career. In 1999, under the study of master teachers Michele Larson and Virginia Nicholas, she earned a Pilates Certification through Core Dynamics Pilates. Mary Ellen has trained with many great teachers who have played a part in building her unique and accessible teaching style which spans several movement modalities. Having always lived with a great passion for people and holistic health, she pursued a BFA in Dance at Arizona State and Athletic Training at Lindenwood University, as well as Thai Bodywork and Gyrotonic licensing. With access to various movement modalities, Mary Ellen has facilitated many clients with a wide variety of physical conditions from surgery rehabilitation to professional athletes to obtain strength and healing. Inspired by the desire to reach people in all walks of life, Mary Ellen opened Central Studio in October of 2012 and continues to develop programming with passion and purpose. Supported by the love of her husband, four amazing children, her parents, six siblings, and the wisdom of incredible teachers and many long-standing clients and friends, the journey continues together.
**Interview with Mary Ellen**
**1. What is your personal philosophy about your business' success and what keeps you driven to maintain it?**
Doing for others and loving unconditionally is the first thing that comes to mind regarding my business philosophy. Maintaining consistency and curiosity is also key to continued growth both personally and professionally.
*Our outlet and modality at Central Studio is movement. I believe movement heals, it brings joy, it's an outlet for every emotion under the sun, it grounds you and allows for space to fly.*
Walking with people through varying life experiences keeps me driven. Through the simultaneous joys and pains of life, I have witnessed firsthand the true gift movement is to one's life. Every hour is new and fresh when working with clients because every hour brings new energy, new challenges, and a new focus. Every day goes by quickly, is varied, and is actually very rewarding and fun!
**2. Who is one of your inspirational role models and why?**
I have so many role models who have inspired and guided me over the years. So many teachers, friends, personal connections, and famous people have lit up my path.
My mother is my number one role model. She is overflowing with wisdom and grace and embodies the essence of unconditional love and doing for others. She provided a true example of how to love others through work and how to find joy in the process. What a gift!
A famous role model would be Maya Angelou who also embodies wisdom. Maya Angelou's impactful poetry, songs, films, and writings demonstrated the right for strength and dignity for all people. One of my favorite calls to action Maya encouraged for us all is to "be a rainbow in someone else's clouds." She has inspired me to keep that concept front and center throughout my decision-making and action-taking.
**3. What is one of your personal values in life and why?**
Keeping Curiosity Alive. Curiosity encourages me to be a perpetual student of life. Curiosity keeps an internal spark alive towards fascinating pursuits but also helps guide me towards loving deeply and tenderly and really seeking to know someone, respect someone, and truly value who another is and where they come from which elevates our community recognizing that together we are better.

**Tambra Galarnyk** finds joy in sharing her enthusiasm for movement with others. When she entered the fitness community 20+ years ago she knew she had found her calling. Certified as a personal trainer through NASM with an additional certificate in Applied Functional Science through Gray Institute, Tambra is a specialized trainer with the skill set to work with a wide range of clients with varying needs. Recognizing both personally and professionally the healing benefits of The Pilates Method, Tambra became certified through the Core Dynamics training program in 2018.
Her goal is to facilitate efficient movement through the focuses of mobility, stability, and strength, which is the foundation of Tambra’s approach; she assesses clients in each capacity and develops a plan to improve limitations. By building relationships, studying human movement, and helping clients move more efficiently, Tambra gains great satisfaction from her work.

**Interview with Tambra**
**1. Who is one of your role models and why?**
My role model is a close friend who lives her life with abandon. She is a professional, a mother of three children, an athlete, a good friend, a wife and daughter yet she finds time to be philanthropic, spontaneous, and joyful witnessing the good in others. Just say “YES” is her tag line and when I find I follow that rule I step out of my “should and could” and start living!
**2. What’s one thing that solidified or changed the trajectory of your career?**
One thing that solidified the directory of my career was the introduction to functional training. The body moves in 3 planes of motion and needs to be exercised in that fashion in order to train muscles to work synergistically.
**3. Name one self-care habit that helps you unwind.**
My self-care habit to unwind is riding my bike. The rhythmic motion, the breeze on my skin, legs pushing and heart-pumping frees my mind and fills my lungs so that I can exhale and prepare for what is yet to come!

**Tayler Kinner** Tayler Kinner grew up with a passion for movement and dance. They hold a BFA in Dance and a minor in Advertising & Marketing Communications from Webster University, graduating with departmental honors. Tayler spent several years in San Francisco where she worked with contemporary and dance-theater companies including RAWdance, Alyssandra Katherine Dance, Tim Rubel Human Shakes, KWENTO, REYES Dance, and several independent artists. They are the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Big Plate Dance, offering movement improvisation workshops to the public and bringing spontaneous and immersive works to audiences. She currently is Adjunct Faculty at Webster University and works with Karlovsky & Company Dance and Collective Motion. Tayler lives in St. Louis with their partner and two cats.

Paige teaches kids dance at Central Studio Academy in St. Louis — **Paige Walden-Johnson** began dancing at four years old in Cincinnati, OH, and found her love for choreography and performance art at Webster University. In addition to the study of ballet, jazz, modern, tap, classical Thai Dance and improvisation that has taken her around the globe, she choreographed and performed in the dance film, *To Cause a Dream*, featured at Editions Futura gallery in Paris, produced and choreographed the pieces *Embracing Contact* and *Finite/Infinte* in the Saint Louis Fringe Festival, and performed with Karlovsky & Company Dance and Leverage Dance Theater. She is now the founder and executive director of CommUNITY Arts Festival, a festival that sets the stage to communicate, educate and heal the effects of Saint Louis violence.

**Orren O’Toole** was born and raised in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, where they began their rigorous, formal dance training with Elizabeth Anne Brown’s Performing Arts of Germantown. Orren began their professional career dancing live for the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant under the direction of Angie Lawrence and Jimmy Exum (2016 - 2019). In 2017, Orren was honored to receive the HSMTA’s Outstanding Featured Dancer award for their performance in 42nd Street: The Musical as Andy Lee. In 2021, they graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a minor in Psychology. During their time at USM, Orren performed in USM Dance’s Repertory Dance Company (2018 - 2021) and engaged in residencies from Chris Grant and Lauren Yalango-Grant, Rosanna Tavarez, Wideman-Davis Dance, MOVE Inclusive Dance, and more. In 2022, Orren moved to St. Louis, Missouri to dance with MADCO for their 47th season and ultimately continue expanding on their research for Dance/Movement Therapy. They are currently looking forward to their 4th year teaching at 15 S. Old Orchard Ave. as well as their second year moving for life with the Central Studio family! Orren is also pursuing their Level 2 certification in Tamalpa Expressive Arts Therapy before working toward a graduate degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. Orren is overjoyed to have the opportunity to share their love for community outreach and dance as a way of *knowing*, *healing*, and *connecting* in such a wonderfully inclusive environment.
10. What is the most favorite place you've traveled? Describe one memorable moment from that visit.
I think my favorite place I've traveled to so far is New Orleans. I love being in places with soul, and my friends and I used to go there most weekends in college because we were so close. My favorite memories of New Orleans are when I'm eating crawfish so spicy it'll make your nose run and going to all the local plant nurseries for their incredible selections and deals year round.

12. Who got you into dancing/ Pilates/ Your movement modality?
I was always dancing in my earliest memories in life, even before I enrolled in formal training around the age of 6. Movement and art gives me life, peace, grounding, my center, connection, and community. I grew up training in a competitive studio, and I always loved Tap, the costumes, and the owner of our studio, Elizabeth Anne Brown the most. When I was in undergrad, I became fascinated with the space to blend my knowledge and passion of Dance with my studies in Psychology- where I found Somatic/Movement Therapy. The faculty of my university was very inspiring to me, and they taught us of many wise pioneers in Dance/Movement Therapy. Some of my favorites, Anna Halprin and Sandra Fraleigh, have made large impacts within their communities. I aspire to continue to grow, learn, and research so that I can do the same.

17. What are your other hobbies/interests outside of dance/ pilates/ your movement modality?
I love plants! I'm always collecting more, and some of them have been given to me by very special people in my life. They hold sentimental value and provide a warm tropical canopy full of life for my home. I like to mix my own substrates and plant food, and it's so rewarding watching them grow! I discovered my green thumb in 2019 and that was my gateway to learning about herbalism a couple years after. I also make my own body butters, ointments, dry shampoo, acne sprays, house cleaners, and more from my own harvest.

**Tammy Pryor** As a breast cancer survivor, Tammy’s commitment to whole body health was the final step in treatment; the Pilates method was where she found the tools to achieve the mental and physical discipline required to fulfill this commitment. Following nine years of personal Pilates practice, Tammy wanted to further develop her understanding of the connections of mind, body, and spirit through the pursuit of Pilates excellence. Having a healthy appetite for discovery and being a lifelong learner, Tammy completed a 500-hour comprehensive Pilates certification program with Kevin Bowen of Core Dynamics Pilates in 2020. Upon successful completion of the Instructor Certification Program, she began working at Central Studio. Knowing on a personal level the impact Pilates has had on strengthening her ability to move, she is keen on sharing that knowledge with her clients; plus, teaching has always brought her great satisfaction. Combining her passion for Pilates and her love of teaching is the perfect marriage! She enjoys teaching the art of controlled movement to her clients with an emphasis on proper alignment and form. Introducing the healing power of movement and helping her clients explore the evolution that comes with a deeper connection to the mind and body is particularly gratifying to her. Tammy is married and has two grown children. Outside of her perpetual study of Pilates, she enjoys music, travel, and kayaking.
**Interview with Tammy**
1. What is one of your hidden hobbies - something that most people do not know about?
A hobby that I have had for many years that I never tire of is genealogy. The stories that I have uncovered about my ancestors often feeds into learning something new about history and geography, which I love.

2. What is something or who is something that has significantly shaped your life?
By the age of 17, I had spent more than half my life living overseas. Growing up among worlds as a third culture kid had its privileges and downside. The person I am today was significantly shaped by these experiences and I wouldn’t have changed it for a minute!

3. What is a piece of advice you'd give your younger self?
*My mother always told me that everything would always fall into place. I found courage in knowing that even if I wasn’t sure about where I was headed, everything was going to be alright.*

**Laura Dunlop** is a certified Pilates teacher, based at our Clayton studio. Try Jump Board or Pilates Equip 2 for a more challenging class!

**Abbie Hinrichs** is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher native to St. Louis, Missouri. She earned her BFA from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and returned home to pursue a professional dance and teaching career. Abbie has taught dance to all ages (from two to 102!) throughout the St. Louis region for over ten years and is continuously grateful that she can help others discover joy and physical healing that comes through movement and understanding one’s body. She has worked for eight years at Central Studio where her teaching career has expanded under the mentorship of Mary Ellen Bryan. As a compliment to teaching dance, Abbie earned her Pilates certification in 2019 from the Core Dynamics Teacher Training Program to provide another avenue of healing to her students. She currently serves on the board of Community Arts STL; a non-profit organization dedicated to building a healthier and more vibrant St. Louis by providing transportation and tuition scholarships for youth interested in arts education and has danced in multiple fundraisers with CASTL’s performance group, Collective Motion. Abbie has danced professionally for ten seasons with Karlovsky & Company Dance where in addition to mainstage performances, she has had the opportunity to tour internationally to France, South Africa, and Slovakia. She is a founding member of Ballet 314 and has performed for eight seasons with notable roles such as “Toymaker” in The Nutcracker and the 1904 World’s Fair (2024,2025) and “Elizabeth Proctor” in The Accused (2025). Outside of company work, Abbie has danced and choreographed in freelance projects with Tayler Kinner (Big Plate Dance), Laura Roth, Morgan Cameron, and more. If she’s not dancing or teaching, you can find Abbie at home with her partner and cats in their South City backyard turned wildflower prairie.

A native of South Carolina, **Robert Poe** has enjoyed a professional dancing career of 18 years. He has performed with classical and contemporary dance companies across the Southeast and Midwest. Since coming to Saint Louis in 2011, he has been a founding member of The Big Muddy Dance Company, dancer with the St. Louis Ballet, and performer with Opera Theater St. Louis and The Winter Opera. In February 2019, Robert became co-founder and co-director of Ballet 314 - a ballet company focused on celebrating local talent in Saint Louis. Through this organization, he has re-written the classic story of *The Nutcracker* to highlight Saint Louis' history in his co-authored children's book, *The Nutcracker and the 1904 World's Fair,* which has become its own production. He has also choreographed his first full-length ballet, *Ragtime the American Experience,* inspired by E. L. Doctoro's novel. Robert teaches varying dance styles and choreographs for multiple studios, universities, and dance companies in the Saint Louis area, including Central Studio.
**Interview with Robert**
**Who got you into dancing?**
*My father took lessons from my town's most prolific dance instructor who happened to be a friend of the family. I started with tap dancing at age four and was hooked from the beginning.*
**What do you love about ballet?**
Ballet has brought many valuable assets to my life including self discipline, physical health, mindfulness, artistry, musical awareness, and nutritional knowledge. What keeps me coming back to ballet is the relationship between expression with the body and responding to music.
Because ballet is so rigorous and demanding on the body, one of my focuses when teaching it is proper alignment and positioning for the body's safety. It's very easy to injure yourself and I take pride in arming my students with knowledge of how to safely use their bodies to express themselves.
**What other dance styles influence your teaching?**
When I was in my teens I discovered modern dance. I thought it was going to hinder my ballet training at first but I realized that it helped me find a connection with the floor. Ballet is, aesthetically, a very lifted and elevated dance style but to find that, one must have a deep relationship with the ground. Modern dance helped me find that.
**How do you hope to influence the dance community here?**
Concert dance has a lot of preconceived notions about it, especially classical ballet. It has not been a welcoming or inclusive art form from the beginning and it is only just now taking baby steps to recognize that fact. With my teaching and my ballet company, Ballet 314, I am working to redefine what ballet is, what it means, and how it treats its participants. Students of any age or level deserve to have excellent training regardless of their physical abilities. Dancers of any style or body type deserve to be seen for their gifts and passion and deserve respect, period.

**Liese Rugan** played competitive volleyball in high school and college, but walked away with a lot of injuries. She discovered Pilates in 2004 and quickly cured her pain and strengthened her body. Motivated by her own success, she began to study Pilates. In 2006, she studied under Master Teacher Ellie Herman in Brooklyn, NY and was comprehensively certified. For the last 16 years Liese has coached a wide range of clients in Brooklyn NY and Napa, CA. Additionally, she ran a Pilates program to high school students at the Brooklyn Latin School in Brooklyn and worked with Wine Cellar specialists in Napa. She specializes in post-surgery rehab, seniors, pre- and post-natal, teens, triathletes, postural alignment issues, strength and flexibility issues, and general fitness for healthy active adults.

**Amy Weigel** discovered Pilates in 1999 and was extremely intrigued by the method because it was different from any form of exercise she had tried before. The balance created in the body and the strong mind/body aspect still continues to challenge and interest her. After taking lessons for four years, Amy had the opportunity to enroll in the Pilates Unlimited teaching training program and decided to pursue it initially to obtain a greater understanding about the Pilates method. She completed her certification in 2005 and found that she enjoyed teaching and sharing the Pilates method with others. Amy also has a degree in Accounting and an MBA and currently divides her time between teaching Pilates and working in the healthcare industry.

**Bridiga Rusconi** grew up in Switzerland and moved to the US for work in 2014. Two years ago, on her journey to find a movement type that would support, and let her connect with her hypermobile body she discovered Pilates. Her scientific background led her to dig deeper into the theory of Pilates and she decided to pursue the Pilates Teacher Training through Core Dynamics Pilates. After completing the first part of her training she is now eager to continue to grow as a student and teacher of Pilates while continuing to work as a scientist and educator. Her goal as a teacher is to help her clients connect with their bodies and develop strength and movement that is supportive of their daily life activities. You will see her bike back and forth from the Central West to teach, or take a class at our Pershing Studio location.

**Diane Carr** is a third generation Classical Pilates instructor who has been teaching for over 20 years. She
was certified by Master Instructor Jill Cassady, who trained and taught with Joe Pilates’ protégé Romana
Kryzanowska and elder Ron Fletcher. In Los Angeles, Diane worked at Pilates pioneer Mari Winsor’s
studio, where she taught men and women of all ages and abilities, and specialized in helping those who
had been injured or were dealing with chronic health issues. Diane honors her lineage through her
innovative teaching of the Pilates Principles, and by focusing on proper form and technique. She holds a
BFA in Musical Theatre from Webster University’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts, where she was an
adjunct professor for 3 years teaching the Pilates Method to 4 th year students in the Conservatory’s Acting
and Musical Theatre programs.

Monica Sauer is a classically trained flutist, educator, and arts leader whose creative foundation began in dance. Growing up as a dancer nurtured her awareness of how movement and sound interact and shaped her teaching philosophy and approach to music education. She believes that the arts thrive through connection, curiosity, and the integration of creativity across disciplines.

Monica has served as music faculty at Glendale Community College, teaching popular music history, and as Dean of Arts at Arizona School for the Arts, where she led programs in dance, music, and theatre. She designed innovative curricula and professional development initiatives that emphasize creativity, inclusion, and social-emotional learning in the performing arts classroom.

Dedicated to empowering students and educators alike, Monica continues to explore the relationship between music, movement, and human expression.

Cindy Henry fell in love with group fitness after discovering POUND in February 2017, it was truly love at first strike. The connection of music and movement was a life-changing experience; that was all it took for her to become a certified POUND Pro later that year. Transforming her relationship with wellness, Cindy has been leading and supporting others in their own movement and wellness journey ever since. A certified AFAA Group Fitness Instructor, she holds certifications in multiple POUND formats and POMSQUAD Fitness. She believes there is genuine power within the deep connection between music, mind, body, and community. Cindy lives and leads with authenticity, never taking herself too seriously and is most certainly always silly.

Outside of the studio, you can find Cindy crafting (let’s talk about fiber arts!), spending time with her husband and their many fur children, and always planning something!