Pilates classes from an ex-cabaret dancer are set to launch in an Islignton community centre.
Classically trained in ballet and with more than ten years of experience in dance, Linda Smith has performed at glamorous venues such as the Moulin Rouge and Lido de Paris. Now she will turn her hand to Islington, introducing pilates classes for the Almorah Road Community Centre.
She fell in love with community-based exercise after spending three years in Shanghai, she told Islington Now.
“The spirit of Shanghainese women and their love of choreographed exercise” inspired her and she decided to set up her own company, Breathe Pilates, five years ago.
Her classes cost only £8, but in an effort to make pilates even more accessible to the local community, two free places are offered to those who are unwaged or on low-income.
“I wanted it to be accessible to everybody, and fairly priced, because pilates can be so expensive.”
By teaching at local spaces she hopes to reach a diversity of people from different age groups and backgrounds.
The Almorah Road Community Centre has said on its Facebook page: “Linda’s classes are suitable for all ages and levels of experience, and mats are provided.”
