Every time a Black woman walks into a Pilates studio, she steps into a piece of Black history. Long before Lori Harvey, Black women like Kathleen Stanford Grant, the first Black Pilates instructor, have played a pivotal role in the history and foundation of the social media-fueled workout.
Today, Pilates, a low-impact, full-body workout, is considered the ultimate “IT Girl” workout. However, even though more Black women are incorporating Pilates into their workout routines, there continues to be a lack of diversity among Pilates studios. Like in many spaces, Black women across social media platforms are discussing the complicated reality of being the only Black woman in these spaces. “I wish someone had prepared me and warned me about the racial disparities in Pilates classes,” the creator shared on TikTok. “Being the only POC, let alone a Black woman, in your class can make you feel alone and excluded, and prevent you from enjoying the moment.”
So in addition to building resistance to difficult Pilates poses, most black women are forced to build resistance to the impostor syndrome that comes with being the token in the room. While many Black Pilates users have learned the beauty of “occupying space” in these scenarios, organizations like Black Girl Pilates are , we’re working to make sure you don’t have to do that. “I always let the community know that there is indeed a history of Pilates,” says founder Sonya Herbert.
Its history begins with Kathleen Stanford Grant, also known as Kathy Grant. Born in 1921, Grant dreamed of becoming a classical ballet dancer. Her passion for the performing arts led Ms. Grant to New York, where she became the first black student to study classical her ballet at the Boston Conservatory of Music. Despite the discriminatory restrictions her industry tried to place on Grant as a young black dancer, she starred in Broadway’s first comprehensive show. finian’s rainbow, Eventually, he took his talents as a dancer and choreographer overseas. Her dancing career soon came to a halt when her pioneer suffered an injury to her knee, which changed the path of her career.
Given his injury, and on the recommendation of a friend, Grant sought physical therapy from Joseph Pilates, the creator of the exercise regimen. After understanding the benefits of Pilates’ unique techniques, Grant became one of the few to learn Controlology (Pilates) directly from its inventor. After earning her certification, she used her skills to train fellow dancers at various studios, and then she became an administrator and teacher at the Dance Theater in Harlem, where she used Pilates to train young dancers. I trained.
“Every dancer knows Pilates now, but back then they really couldn’t afford it. And they didn’t even know it,” says Sarita Allen, Alvin Ailey ambassador and exercise specialist. says. “She had one of the first studios, not just as a black woman, but as a whole. There were probably only three studios in the world teaching Pilates at the time. She was revolutionary.” Allen, who has worked with Grant for nearly 40 years, met him as a young dancer at a dance theater in Harlem.
She remembers that their first meeting wasn’t necessarily love at first sight. “We all came to the Dance Theater in Harlem to do ballet. [but] Before we knew it, we were on the floor doing arm raises and crazy stuff, and she used a lot of vocals to get those muscles activated. She used nursery rhymes,” she recalls with a laugh. “One in particular was ‘Mary Had a Lamb.’ So, of course, when she turned 14, she would think she was an adult. […], I remember not being impressed at all. It didn’t come later. Yeah, no, I think that’s common in Pilates. ”
Singing was one of the many “special touches” Grant added to his practice. Known as the “Cathy-ism,” former students like Allen and Bridge Pilates’ Blossom Crawford say Pilates pioneers “wear jeans with a zipper, cinch your belly button up to your waistline, and tighten your belt.” I remember him using expressions that are still used today. Help students target specific muscles. Grant developed his unique approach to Pilates, prioritizing both strength and healing. In addition to teaching at Harlem College and New York University, Grant helped clients, including Allen, recover from serious injuries.
“It was miraculous. Like me, many people were told, ‘I’ll never dance again,'” Allen explained, noting that Grant’s healing ministry extended beyond dancers. “She trained herself. She remembers her office and her home. She had stacks of magazines and anatomy books. [that] she will study That’s how she healed people. She started with Pilates and then used her own intuition. ”
Recognized for his training abilities, Grant worked with star dancers such as Cicely Tyson, Eartha Kitt, and Alvin Ailey. She became director of the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, where she became the first African-American to join the National Endowment for the Arts and developed her passion for the performing arts by championing minority dancers.
Grant described herself as more stubborn than genius, but Allen described her as a selfless person who left a lasting impact despite defying fame and inspired generations of black dancers and Pilates instructors. I think he is the bad guy. “Kathy Grant ran so hard that we could walk, but we must also recognize that history is still being made,” Herbert says. “She started it and opened the door so we could continue to make history.”
