Ron Fletcher scared the crap out of me. \u00a0I was standing before him in a freezing cold dance room in Philadelphia. \u00a0He was stern; the people closest to him did everything he said to the letter and I was trying to hide in the back. \u00a0I had no chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was attending a weekend seminar on the Spine Corrector, a piece of Pilates apparatus, and there were maybe 80 people in the room (I\u2019m horrible with numbers, it might have been more). \u00a0We were given a unique set of instructions before we arrived which included: wearing only all black with absolutely no adornment, we had to wear black tights, and no bootleg yoga pants or anything crazy like that. \u00a0I literally didn\u2019t own any tights and had to zip out to buy some before I left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had heard scary things about Mr. Fletcher. \u00a0I heard that he yelled at you if you screwed up. \u00a0I heard that he kicked you out of the room if you\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0screwed up \u2026 \u201cPlease, God, let me just hang out in the back and quietly absorb,\u201d I whispered. \u00a0And why was I standing at a ballet barre? \u00a0Where are the Spine Correctors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I proceeded to spend the rest of the day at the ballet barre. \u00a0Doing ballet work. \u00a0This was actually pretty great (if not what I signed up for), except that I was a gymnast as a kid. \u00a0I had literally never been to any dance class, never mind ballet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Fletcher paced the room, roaming up and down the lines of ballet barres. \u00a0He came closer and I gripped the bar, praying silently, \u201cPlease walk past. \u00a0Please walk past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t you know first position?!?\u201d he boomed at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cActually, sir, no. \u00a0I just learned it 20 minutes ago,\u201d I squeaked. \u00a0I don\u2019t know what possessed me but I added, \u201cHow\u2019m I doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He paused. \u00a0He sized me up. \u00a0\u201dActually, really well \u2026 for only 20 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was it. \u00a0He was a doll the rest of the weekend, helping me a bit here and there and giving me an encouraging smile now and then. \u00a0I was smitten. \u00a0Completely smitten. \u00a0We did ballet barre and reformer work and only for about two hours the entire weekend did I see a Spine Corrector but it didn\u2019t matter. \u00a0Whatever Mr. Fletcher wanted to teach was fine by me. \u00a0I learned a ton of new choreography, LOVED how Ron took all I knew about Pilates and turned it on it\u2019s head, and LOVED how he got me to think outside of the sometimes strident East Coast style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the weekend, I went up to him and said, \u201cThank you so much. \u00a0May I ask for a hug?\u201d \u00a0He gave me a huge smile and said, \u201cHoney, I\u2019ll give you a big ol\u2019 Texas hug!\u201d and grabbed me in his amazingly strong grasp, so tight I squeaked. \u00a0I staggered back, happy, and went home to my clients to share my new choreography. \u00a0They were eagerly waiting to eat it up. \u00a0Some of my favorite exercises were ones I learned that weekend over five years ago now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I saw him at a couple of conferences after that and was always surprised he remembered me (or was really great at faking it). \u00a0His stories are legendary and I loved them all: working with Fred Astaire, becoming sober, the symbolism of the necklace he always wore, working with Joe Pilates, the kindness of Joe\u2019s wife, Clara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyria Sabin heads his organization and has for quite a while now. \u00a0She has done much to keep his voice and his work alive and I\u2019m privileged that I got to meet her and work with her. \u00a0I know that she will carry on Mr. Fletcher\u2019s work and continue to make us all think about his unique perspective on Pilates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ron Fletcher made me a more open-minded teacher. \u00a0He taught me that the work has a broad spectrum of \u201cgood,\u201d and as long as the client is progressing, then you\u2019re doing the right thing. \u00a0He also showed me a little kindness when I was off kilter and that will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you Ron Fletcher. \u00a0Rest in peace.<\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ron Fletcher scared the crap out of me. \u00a0I was standing before him in a freezing cold dance room in Philadelphia. \u00a0He was stern; the people closest to him did everything he said to the letter and I was trying to hide in the back. \u00a0I had no chance. I was attending a weekend seminar …<\/p>\n