Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorn MacDougal.
Hi Lorn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Following childhood training in ballet and modern dance leading to college as a dance major, I became a professional dancer based in NYC. I also began to teach and choreograph as well as perform in my own dances and in those of a number of choreographers important in the contemporary dance world. I continued my education, earning an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
I collaborated with Alain Le Razer, a filmmaker/composer, juxtaposing his film animation with my choreography which I set to his music. We toured nationally and internationally and were among the first artists to challenge audiences viewing dancers against film (16mm), before the wide use and popularization of video.
I began with Pilates training in 1990 under the instruction of Kathy Grant, one of Joseph Pilates’ own students. Performing dance lifts, as well as being lifted, had lead to some painful compression of my lower spine. Pilates helped decompress these bones and I have never stopped practicing it. Experiencing and witnessing this fitness form’s benefits of well-being and deepening strength has brought me great satisfaction throughout the years.
I have been certified to teach since 2009 opening my equipment studio in 2012, and I continue to train daily as well as teach my clients. These students of all ages maintain regular training schedules, the consistency which Mr. Pilates insisted is the only route to gaining an intelligent body and progressing to acute awareness of one’s movement.
The exercises both strengthen and stretch the body, establish a state of mind/body/spirit connectivity, and generally just make one feel great. To live in an articulate body is to know oneself better as years pass so as to look forward to the later years without having to give up favorite activities. Alignment, symmetry, balance and coordination all come into play. The mind stays sharper as the exercises require 100% concentration to perform. They challenge and establish greater capacity of memory. They are also fun thanks to the large range of movement on the Reformer, Wunda Chair, Tower and other equipment, releasing endorphins that build a glow inside you.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The work of a dancer is one of continual striving for excellence, and it is hard grueling work with its commitment of high physical energy, repetition, and mind/body challenges. A dancer must rest or the daily requirements in rehearsals and training become too onerous. That means little in the way of parties, drinking alcohol, and running around as is normal for most young people. Hence the dancer’s life is one of discipline, caring for the body, and deep involvement in the work.
Soreness, fatigue, even injuries, are what a dancer has to accept as normal realities. But for me the rewards were also great because the living was so interesting, working with great choreographers, developing my own artistry, performing in Europe and in Asia, collaborating with others, always learning, and having appreciative students.
Pilates was not available to me when young as it is now, with most dancers training in the form alongside their dance classes. I found Pilates just in time and it gave me two more decades of dancing without compromising my body. I am essentially pain free in my older years for which I thank Jospeh Pilates – his genius and the equipment he left to us.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have been teaching movement since I was a young dancer so my Pilates students benefit from six decades of experience. Dancers who are also Pilates practitioners come to know themselves profoundly which make them able to convey the many levels of awareness, intelligence, dynamics, rhythm, flow, concentration, and intention inherent in performing mind/body challenges.
Many studios now offer group classes which are economically attractive but often leave students with little or no coaching on their form. Private lessons should be part of the training menu. My classes give a solid workout combined with coaching as to how the movement should be executed. The specifics, often delivered rhythmically during the exercise, lead to more satisfaction, safety and less worry. Injuries in Pilates are rare but not impossible should the student have poor understanding of how to work with the resistance from the springs.
Pilates In Depth benefits from its beautiful bright studio in a house set back from the road, with windows on two sides giving onto tree branches. The equipment allows for privates and duets, hence with individual attention you progress in this challenging fitness form.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
When I was 10, I made a bet with my grandmother that I would still be dancing at age 21. She bet against me, assuming that I like most little girls, would give it up well before that age. Was is a motivation to continue on that path? I don’t think so, the bet being for very little money, and I much more in love with dancing that I was with anything else. When I won the bet my grandmother increased the reward amount but gave it to me in the form of a War Bond. The war? Vietnam. I cashed it in immediately most certainly not going to let the Government use my money for that debacle.
Pricing:
- Private sessions: $90 per
- Package for privates: $850 for 10
- Duet sessions:n $50 each
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pilatesindepth.com/index.html
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pilatesbylorn
Image Credits
Photos by Alain Le Razer & Lorn MacDougal
