Lauren Alzamora
Bio
Lauren Alzamora received her pilates mat and full equipment certification from the Kane School in 2004. Also a professional dancer, she graduated from the high school dance department of UNC School of the Arts in 2001 and has been performing in the U.S. and abroad since then. She has danced with Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech and Battery Dance Company in New York; she was also a member of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet for five years. While in Aspen, Lauren took the Foundation I Course in the GYROTONIC* Exercise Method, which she finds to be a wonderful compliment to the Pilates training. Lauren currently dances for Ballet Hispanico in New York and is also thrilled to be a part of the Barefoot Tiger team.
Certifications:
Pilates Mat and Equipment Certification
Kane School of Core Integration (2004)
Apprentice in GYROTONIC
Pilates Teacher Trainer at Kane School
CEC: FAMI workshop (Functional Anatomy for Movement and Injuries), July 2011
Specialties:
Pilates
Incorporating yoga stretches and poses into pilates
Tailoring individualized workouts
Developing dynamic strength,
increasing flexibility
Challenges the mind-body connection
Where is your favorite place to spend a day off?
The beach!!! I can spend entire days lounging in the sand and sun and frolicking in the waves. I suppose it brings me back to my childhood, spending long summers at the beach with my family. Perhaps one of my favorite beaches I’ve visited in my adult life is the Nepali Coast of Kauai. Clear blue water, rocky cliffs, coral reefs, hidden waterfalls – there is no place like it! I especially love to do pilates and yoga on the beach in between bouts of sunbathing. The sand is great for practicing handstands!
What is something people would probably like to know about you?
As a professional dancer, I have had the opportunity to perform and travel all over the world. Some of the countries I have had the pleasure of visiting include: Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Greece, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Australia. On some of these world tours I taught Pilates mat class, oftentimes without a single English-speaking person in attendance – these are the times when clear demonstration comes in handy.
What traits in others are you attracted to?
I admire a person who is humble – no matter what they accomplish themselves, they are not concerned with getting credit for it or flaunting their success. I feel that true greatness is accompanied by humility. Selflessness and compassion are two other beautiful qualities that I admire in others and try to cultivate within myself and in my life.
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be and who would it be with?
I would probably go back to Santorini (the Greek island). A few years ago I went with some of my best girlfriends that I was dancing with at the time. We stayed on the busy south coast, where the black sand beaches are. We took four-wheelers around the island, and drove on the cliffsides as the sun was setting. It was one of the most memorable and liberating experiences I have had, so far removed from my life in New York. I have never been so excited by the freedom and beauty of a particular place.
When was the last time you cried laughing and why?
This is one of my favorite things about life – that uncontrollable laughter where you can’t breathe and the tears stream down. Lucky for me, this just happened the other day, at a family gathering. It’s one of those things where you just had to be there….. so I won’t attempt to describe what happened. It was so silly.
What do you do in your free time?
Yoga, knitting, cat-napping, dancing, pilates, GYROTONIC, brushing up on anatomy, going to the theater, wine tasting, word games, staying in touch with friends and family who live far away, meditating, laughing loud.