Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelli Hutchins.
Hi Kelli, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started Pilates in 2001 in Boulder, Colorado at The Pilates Center. What I didn’t know when I started Pilates there was that it is the oldest Pilates School in the Pilates industry. In 2004, I decided that I would start the teacher training program at The Pilates Center. It is a rigorous and internationally recognized Pilates School. Once I graduated I was luckily hired to teach at the school. Within a few years, I was hired to also manage the educational programs at The Pilates Center. I mentored closely with the owners of The Pilates Center (TPC) Amy Alpers and Rachel Segel. Because of this, I began to also travel with Amy when she went to different studios throughout the U.S. to teach workshops to other Pilates teachers. This was an amazing opportunity because it allowed me to learn and mentor on presenting workshops in our industry. In 2014, I moved from Boulder, Colorado to the Austin, Texas area where I taught at a corporation and local studio while still managing the education at The Pilates Center remotely. My title at The Pilates Center is Director of Education. Prior to leaving Colorado, I organized our teacher training program on an online management portal where students from anywhere can do our teacher training programs. We were the first Pilates school in the industry to do this. It was frowned upon in our industry but I knew that the real learning in our programs was the internship/mentorship hours that students do with their local Pilates teacher they work with. We lived in the Austin, Texas area until 2020. We relocated to College Station, Texas in the middle of 2020. At this point, everyone was only teaching online and we as a school had already been using Skype to teach lessons, as well as offering online classes to students all over the world. Since we already had our programs available online, it was a seamless shift we had to make compared to the other schools in the industry. My husband now is a professor at Texas A&M University which is the reason we relocated. We built a new home and planned to have my studio available in our home in 2021. I have been teaching local clients and online teachers and clients since we moved into our home in 2021. I travel to teach Pilates workshops to teachers internationally as well as local in the U.S. I really enjoy the opportunity to have such a wide range of clientele and opportunity to share what I love to do.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It is always a challenge to start somewhere new. Most of the clients that I meet stay with me. Not everyone enjoys my style of teaching which is expected. But overall the experience has been great.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I teach Classical Pilates. What this means is that it is the closest to what Joseph Pilates was teaching Romana Kryzanowska. Our school is based off of Romana’s work with Joseph. Many people don’t understand what Pilates is about and feel that it is more about stretching but it is so much more than that. In our school, we really focusing on teaching the body in front of us and not just instructing. There is a difference in working with the body in front of you and telling someone what to do. We have to learn to connect with people and teach them more about their own bodies. This way they can have some ownership and make changes to their imbalances. I was a competitive swimmer when I was a child, so I have an understanding of using more of the upper body and back which is unique to me. Many Pilates teachers/instructors come from dance originally which the focus becomes about something different. I often teach workshops about the upper body and back. What sets me apart from other Pilates teachers/instructors is the mentoring I did with Amy Alpers and Rachel Segel the owners of TPC. This means that I have a deeper understanding of movement and have learned how to connect with my clients as well as teach them more about themselves so they can have some ownership.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
No. What helps me with work or home is the unbelievable support of my husband and 11 year old daughter. My husband encourages me to travel and focus on my career while he will take care of everything at home when I am gone. For example, I was gone for 3 weekends in a 5 week period recently and he managed everything while I was gone. My mentor, Amy Alpers and other colleague that I travel with Kaile Ziemba also offer me support which makes my work and home life better by being great friends.
Pricing:
- $90 Private lesson (50 minutes)
- $110 Duet (50 minutes)
- $120 Trio (50 minutes)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kellibhutchinspilates.com
- Instagram: kellibhutchins
- Facebook: Kelli Burkhalter Hutchins
Image Credits
Louisa Albanese
