The Golden Years
The ship carried him to the United States met the woman who would become his second wife, Clara (no data on their first marriage.) Clara was a teacher of children who suffered from arthritis and during the trip who tried to relieve their pain. In 1926 he opened in Manhattan (New York), at number 939 Eighth Avenue, corner of 56th Street, a studio to teach his method. He began working with the equipment he had designed for rehabilitation, the cadillac and the reformer, and I think new ones, as the Wunda chair or barrel. It is said that the first barrel did it with a beer and clamps used to create the magic circle. The machines were manufactured by his brother Fred, who was a carpenter, which is why, following this tradition today are made of wood and steel. It soon became popular with choreographers and dancers, as in the same building were several dance studios and rehearsal spaces.His method helped the dancers to improve their technique and recover from common injuries resulting from intensive training. Began to come to his studio famous choreographers such as Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Martha Graham. Also other personalities such as actor Jose Ferrer and the writer Christopher Isherwood. The choreographer Hanya Holm began to incorporate Pilates exercises to their classes. In 1934 he published together with the Robins Judd Your health or: a Corrective System of Exercising That Entire revolutionize the field of physical education (“Your health: a corrective system of exercising that revolutionizes the entire field of Physical Education”), a small booklet just sixty pages in which, in language that at times it may be outdated today, explains his philosophy of life and, however, for the time revolutionary theories about health, hygiene and exercise.The book is accompanied by photographs of Pilates himself and others that clarify and reinforce these theories. In the last chapter even offers some new models of chairs and beds, which he built prototypes. The title of his ten chapters gives an idea of its content and the thought of Pilates: A serious situation Health, a normal and natural condition Deplorable conditions Down Remedios sense! “Contrology” “Balancing body and mind ” First educate children! fact! Beds and chairs and new style. Between 1939 and 1951, Pilates and his wife attended the dance festival, Jacob’s Pillow in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. Many rich and famous, but also from other social classes, began to attend to his study and became a familiar figure, because despite their health care used to be the king of festivals and was a great lover of whiskey and smoking cigars, and show some pictures.It was also usual to see him running through the streets of Manhattan in the middle of winter wearing just a tiny swimsuit. Published in 1945, with William J. Judd Miller and also Robbins as or, his second and latest book, Return to Life Through Contrology (“Return to life through the Contrology”), a manual that, after an introduction by Miller explaining the basics of the method , shown with photographs of Pilates himself, who by then had 65 years of age, the execution of 34 basic exercises. Pilates died in October 1967, at 87 years of age. Two years earlier, the fire had destroyed his studio and, according to some biographies, her death was caused by wounds suffered the day after the fire to visit the remains of the gym trying to save some of their belongings. However, Mary Bowen, one of his students, says he died from emphysema . His wife took over the studio until his death in 1977.