Mentoring
A Polestar Mentor is someone who provides necessary feedback and guidance for Polestar students as they progress through the curriculum toward certification. In order to become a Mentor, Polestar certified practitioners can apply to participate in the Mentor program outline below. Mentors receive a range of valuable benefits while giving their experience and expertise to dedicated Pilates students.
Click here to download a PDF of current contact listing of all Australian Mentors - as at July 2011.
Polestar Pilates Australian Faculty
Below is the listing of all Australian Educators, please click on the Educator Name to see their full bio.
Catherine is Director of Polestar Pilates Australia and PowerNouse Pilates Studio. Catherine has many years of training experience, both as a dance instructor (8 yrs) and corporate consultant (13 yrs) but decided to pursue a career in Pilates after sustaining a back injury that required ongoing rehabilitation. She opened her Pilates Studio on the Northern Beaches of Sydney Australia in 2002 and not long after commenced her relationship with Polestar Pilates. Catherine is heavily involved in the Pilates community in Australia, being a committee member of the Pilates Alliance of Australasia. She understands the importance of on-going training and keeping up to date with the latest rehabilitative techniques. She is excited about the Alliance of Polestar Pilates with Power Plate. She lives in Sydney and has two small daughters.
Dav has over 15yrs experience in the Pilates world, having studied with some of the well-known Masters in the USA. He is a physiotherapist with a strong background in rehabilitation as well as sports performance enhancement and is an avid surfer and mountain biker. A gifted instructor, Dav is able to work effectively with novice students, professional athletes and experienced Pilates professionals – leaving each with greater knowledge of their bodies as they increase their strength, mobility and awareness. He has been a Principal Educator and Examiner with Polestar Pilates Education since 1997 and is currently Director of Curriculum and Educator Development worldwide. Dav conducts Pilates teacher training workshops and seminars locally and internationally.
Dav has returned to Manly and PowerNouse after a two year break in Denver USA. He is now married to an Aussie lady and is an avid mountain biker, snowboarder, surfer and SCUBA diver.
Deborah is the Director of Studio Align Pilates and Physiotherapy. She received both her Physiotherapy degree and Sport Science degree from the University of Sydney. Having trained as a ballet dancer at the Australain Ballet school Deborah was exposed to the benefits of Pilates for both rehabilitation, sport specific training and general conditioning. Deborah enjoys being able to integrate the benefits of Pilates with her Physiotherapy.
Deborah completed her oringinal Pilates training with Polestar Pilates in 2003 and completed her Diploma of Professional Pilates in 2009. She has been on the teacher training faculty as an Educator since 2007. Deborah has recently completed Post-Graduate Pilates training with Rael Isacowitz from Body Arts and Science in the USA and is a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and Pilates Method Alliance.
Kimberley
Garlick was first introduced to Pilates when dancing Full time with Marilyn
Jones and Garth Welch in 1990. Kimberley studied Human Movement
and Nutrition and worked in the fitness industry both as an instructor
and personal trainer and then did her first course in Pilates in 1998
with Alan Menzies. Since then Kimberley has completed the Studio
Polestar training and various other Pilates instructor courses.
Kimberley is studio Manager for the Platinum Fitness First Studio in Bondi
and has run Mat and small apparatus classes on the Northern
Beaches for the past 6 years.
Darren
Stojanovic completed his Physiotherapy degree at the University of Sydney
in 1992. After working for 3 years in Tasmania, his love of track and
field took him to Kenya for a 6-month stay and during this time he had
the opportunity to join the Kenyan athletic team as touring physio during
1996 & 1997.
After developing an interest in clinical Pilates at a training clinic prior to his Kenyan adventures, Darren returned to Australia in 1997, this time in Melbourne, to commence work at Dance Medicine Australia. Here he trained in the clinical Pilates method under the experienced guidance of Craig Phillips.
In 2001 Darren then opened up his own practice in Richmond with Nicholas Allan, to be known as Dynamic Stability Physio and Pilates Clinic. He completed Polestar's Rehabilitation Certification in 2003 and trained to be an educator with Polestar in 2004.
During this time over a 10-year period, Darren continued to train and race over 800m at national level but finally made the decision to retire from competition in February 2004 to concentrate on becoming a Polestar educator.
Nicholas
Allan is a physiotherapist who graduated from The University of Sydney
with a Bachelor of Appl. Sci. Physiotherapy in 1993, and has also completed
a Post Graduate Diploma (1997) and a Masters of Health Science (2003)
in Manipulative Physiotherapy.
Nicholas was introduced to Pilates by Craig Phillips in 1995. He began using Pilates as an integral part of his strongly exercise based approach to rehabilitation. In Jan 2001 Nicholas and Darren Stojanovic set up Dynamic Stability Physiotherapy; one of Melbourne ’s biggest and best equipped studios. Dynamic Stability is the proud host site for Polestar Education in Melbourne.
Nicholas completed Polestar's Rehabilitation Certification in 2003 and trained to be a educator with Polestar in 2004 and has been highly involved in organising Polestar workshops in Melbourne at Dynamic Stability.
Ingrid
Lamb has been teaching Pilates professionally since 1998. She was originally
a graduate of Deakin University and holds a Bachelor of Secondary Education
in Dance and Literature. Ingrid's long standing passion for the 'Pilates
Technique' began whilst rehabilitating from dance injuries during this
time.
Her affinity with human movement led her to work alongside physiotherapists in the area of rehabilitation and chronic pain management, She has extensive experience in Community health including pre and post natal and Osteoporosis clients. Other clientele include athletes and performing artists and those with work related injuries or movement difficulties.
Ingrid is founder and director of Melbourne based Body Logic Pilates and currently holds a Level 2 certification with the Australian Pilates Method Association (APMA). Ongoing education has seen Ingrid attend many post graduate seminars with elite Pilates professionals. These include Rael Isakowitz (Body Arts & Science, USA) Michele Larsson, and Kathy Corey (West Coast Pilates, USA), and more recently, having embarked upon the Polestar Pilates Mentoring Program with Brent Anderson.
Briana is a fully qualified Pilates practitioner who has been teaching Pilates professionally since 2001. She is certified internationally through Polestar Pilates (USA). With an extensive background in dance, (Royal Academy of Dance, classical) she specialises in dance injuries, fitness and rehabilitation.
Briana was introduced to the Pilates method after a knee reconstruction. Having danced at the Melbourne Dance Academy for a number of years, Briana found Pilates an ideal form of rehabilitation to help her return to full dance capacity.
Having completed Certification in the Studio Series with Polestar Pilates in 2003, Briana has continued her professional Pilates development with Polestar. Briana was offered a Mentorship with Polestar Pilates International in 2003 and now works on the Polestar Pilates training courses in Melbourne.
Liz
is currently the owner and director of The Perth Pilates Studio and a
Level 2 (Practitioner) member of the Australian Pilates Method Association
(APMA). She holds certifications in mat, studio and rehabilitation Pilates
and is a certified personal trainer and SmartBall rehabilitation practitioner.
She is currently completing a degree in physiotherapy.
Liz has worked with a wide variety of clients including dancers from the West Australian Ballet and athletes from the West Australian Institute of Sport. As a Polestar Educator Liz conducts teacher training programs throughout Australasia and gives regular continuing education workshops for organizations such as the APMA and special interest groups of the Australian Physiotherapy Association.
Audrey graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physiotherapy at Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia in 1992. She worked as a Physical Therapist in the United States for eight years and became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. As Physical Therapy Director at Rapid Rehab International in Los Angeles , she was introduced to the Pilates Method and completed her first Instructor's course with the Physical Mind Institute in 1998.
Incorporating her previous experience in Pilates and rehabilitation, Audrey established Performance Physiotherapy in Subiaco , Western Australia in 2003. This practice comprises a fully equipped Pilates Studio, where she conducts private and semi-private sessions. Audrey is actively involved in Australian Physiotherapy Association (WA Chapter) events, as an advocate for Pilates in rehabilitation, helping to improve its profile and increasing public awareness. Audrey began training with Polestar Education in 2003, culminating in her becoming a Mentor.
Jenni graduated from the University of South Australia in 1992 with a Degree in Physiotherapy. Her career began in an intensive care role, gaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Pulmonary and Cardiac rehabilitation and then moved on to her special interest in Dance Injury. The later coming from her formative years as a long term classical dance student. Jenni completed her certification in Pilates Instruction with Dance Medicine Australia in 1999 and furthered her Pilates Education through Pilates International Training Centre and with Polestar Pilates International to extend her knowledge base. Jenni is a Principal Educator/Examiner with Polestar and is secretary of the Pilates Alliance of Australia. This role allows her to be part of a working body that provides standards and regulations to the industry of Pilates in Australasia. Jenni is also a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science allowing her to access the latest research and development in the rehabilitation and prevention of Dance Injury. She is Co Director of Smart Health Training and Services in South Australia., a host site for Polestar Pilates Education.
Collectively, all of the parts to Jenni’s world enable her to maintain a high level of diagnostic skill, treatment and prevention of injury in the Dance and General Rehabilitative worlds. She fills her spare time volunteering with local Dance Schools, providing assessments and education to students, teachers and parents.
After more than 20 years in the health and fitness industry, including 10 years in London, and 8 years in California as both personal trainer and group exercise, she is currently residing in Adelaide South Australia.
Her career has spanned across a variety of disciplines within the mind and body arena, such as Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga, Remedial Massage, aquatic work, hydrotherapy, and Sportsmind. Master Trainer for Body Bolster Jane designed a program bridging patients from physical therapy treatment back onto the gym floor, Back in Balance teaches clients ‘self-care’ of their backs.
Jane started her Pilates journey in Santa Cruz under the expert guidance of Sherri Betz and Brent Anderson in 2001, and continued to work in various studios and physical therapy clinics in and around San Jose.
Jane is a member of the American Council of Sports Medicine and America Council of Exercise and the International Pilates Method Alliance.
Returning in 2006 to open JADE Adelaide's only Pilates Yoga and Movement studio located by the beach.
After 4 years she realized her passion lay not in running the studio but in teaching and educating.
Jane is currently completing her Bachelor of Visual Arts degree at Central School of Art, while working with people privately and mentoring students.
Kellie is an ex state level gymnast and professional ballet dancer who while training at the Australian Ballet School was exposed to the pilates method to rehabilitate a chronic foot injury. So impressed with the method, she underwent an apprenticeship style programme under the guidance of Dance Medicine Australia and has been actively teaching pilates since 2001. Kellie then accelerated her training and while working at Powernouse Pilates in Sydney enrolled in the Polestar Pilates training course. Keen to further explore the concept of movement, she moved to Singapore in 2005 to work as the senior pilates instructor at Ivana Daniell studio, while studying the gyrotonic® method to which she is now certified. She has since worked in Melbourne and has most recently settled in Adelaide. She holds a Bach. Arts (dance) and is currently completing postgraduate study in the area of Health and Rehabilitation Science. Kellie has been affilated with and mentoring/educating for Polestar since 2003.