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Core Fluency Pilates

movement education toward true health

Drive by to see the fabulous Core Fluency Pilates Sign, designed by local sculptor, Joe Autry!

Core Fluency is a fully-equipped Pilates studio offering private and small group practice in the classical Pilates method. Our vision is to create world peace, one person at a time, by inspiring and empowering individuals to recreate their health, and to live fun, vibrant and satisfying lives. Our mission is to offer the finest in classical Pilates practice, and to tailor each lesson to meet and exceed an individual’s goals for health and wellness: fluency in the language of the body!

Our passion is to inspire stewardship of our bodies, of our neighborhood community, and of our planet. Current students range in age from 7 to 90. We are committed to be competive in pricing and to keep classes available to all. To this end, scholarships and work exchanges are available where needed. Laura Porter Blackburn is a Certified Pilates Instructor through the Pilates Method Alliance, and will soon receive her Master's teaching certificate from The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado, dubbed the Harvard of Pilates Schools. She has been an avid practitioner since 1996 and teaching since 1999.

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Trolly Hop Sponsor
Trolly Hop Sponsor

Check out our F.A.T. Friday specials listed on fatfridayhop.org. Call or come by that day to take advantage of the special.

Core Fluency Pilates is a member of FABA, a Trolley Hop sponsor, and a sustaining member of Louisville Public Radio.

Testimonial - Pilates is for all ages

"I'm 90 years old and had 'shrunk' 3 inches in height over the years. I've now regained 3/4 of an inch. I'm standing up straighter and feel that I look better in my clothes. I feel better after every session with Laura--even though I may walk in feeling 'off'. If a knee or hip hurts, she's great at exercising my body in way that relieve the pain and strengthen the problem area."

Attention All Dancers

Introducing a Pilates program for dancers led by Louisville Ballet member and Pilates Instructor, Ashley Thursby Kern. Ashley’s passion is to work with moving artists of all disciplines to improve balances within their bodies. Gain an understanding of your body through the practice of Classic Pilates.

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2012-13 price list for all classes

Recommended practice: mix of group and private lessons 2-3 times weekly

Classical Pilates and the Centerline Equipment
Classical Pilates and the Centerline Equipment

We teach the classical series of Pilates exercise with a focus on full breath and flowing movement, fun, fluent core strength, and in short, returning to LIFE as Joseph Pilates directed.

At Core Fluency, you can expect an initial postural assessment, followed by a tailored, focused program including privates, group lessons, and ‘homework’ designed to set you on your journey to your healthful Best!

Who takes class?

Current students, men and women, range in age from 7 to 90, at all levels of fitness. We are committed to being competitive in pricing and to keep classes available to all. To this end, scholarships and work exchanges are available where needed.

Core Fluency is one of the first studios nationwide to offer Balanced Body’s Centerline Pilates equipment, “classical equipment reborn,” designed by Amy Taylor Alpers and Rachel Taylor Segel, the sisters who have directed The Pilates Center of Boulder Colorado, since 1990. They worked for two years designing this to be the industry's best equipment for performing the classical repertoire the way we are practicing! I have ordered vibrant colors for the upholstery: drop by to see this joyful and uplifting space!

A brief explanation of the Pilates method

“The Pilates method is a system of movement and therapeutic exercise developed over a span of 60 years by German born athlete and physical therapy pioneer, Joseph H. Pilates. Utilizing the specialized equipment he designed, the method works by toning muscles as well as balancing muscular force at the joint level. It stimulates circulation through facilitating muscular flexibility, joint range of motion and proper musculoskeletal alignment. In addition, it promotes new neuromuscular patterns, heightened body awareness, and more precise coordination. All these things combine to help prevent future re-injury and reduce - even in some cases alleviate - chronic pain altogether.”

The Pilates Center of Boulder, CO, www.thepilatescenter.com

Laura Porter Blackburn
Laura Porter Blackburn

Laura Porter Blackburn was born and raised in Louisville KY. She matriculated at Brown University in Providence, RI and later received a Master's of Arts and Humanities in Dance and Theatre from SUNY Buffalo, focusing primarily in Contact Improvisation (a form of postmodern dance in which points of physical contact between two dancers and the earth provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation) and mixed-media live art installations. After almost 5 years of studying the Pilates Method informally in Buffalo, NY and with Deborah Lessen in NYC, and a year of kinesthetic anatomy with Irene Dowd, Laura moved to Boulder, Colorado to enter the Teacher Training Program at The Pilates Center. She earned her certificate of completion from TPC’s Teacher Training Program in 2000 with full certification of the Classic Work on all the Pilates apparatus.

In January 2000, she relocated to Paris, France, where she co-opened in 2001, Centre Pilates de Paris. There she also met her husband Gionatan Surrenti who also practices, performs and teaches Contact Improvisation. They danced together as friends and colleagues for about 4 years, even coming to Louisville in 2002 to do an artistic residency with a French choreographer at the Mary Anderson Center in Indiana. In September 2003, they moved to Orvieto, Italy, where Laura continued her own movement practice of CI and Pilates, developing concepts behind “Movement Education toward True Health” and opening her own small studio, called Core Fluency Pilates. During this time in Orvieto, Laura and her husband also home-birthed their two children, Maya and Mattia Surrenti.

In early 2009, Laura and her family moved home to Louisville. Working out of Pilates Bodies, now Pilates Village, Laura continued to evolve “Core Fluency Pilates: Movement Education toward True Health” to include newer concepts—‘alive as we are meant,’ ‘stewardship of the body and stewardship of the planet,’ ‘replace ambition with curiosity,’ ‘tension masks sensation,’ ‘the small dance we do with the equipment.’ This work invigorates her passion to awaken the full potential to THRIVE in the human body, and in the community around. Newly opened Core Fluency Pilates in the Clifton neighborhood, realizes Laura’s dream to create a teaching center for the classical Pilates work here in Louisville.

Laura has completed continuing education requirements since 2000 for her TPC diploma studying with master teachers in Europe and in the US. She completed TPC’s Master’s program in February 2012, and has been a member of the Pilates Method Alliance for several years. In 2011, she became a PMA certified Pilates teacher. She is also CPR certified.

Laura teaches in English, French and Italian.

“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.” ~Joseph Pilates

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