Welsh Enterprise Awards 2025/ 18 Female-Run Social Enterprise Champion of the Year 2025 & Excellence Award for Pilates Training Services 2025 As the only comprehensively trained and fully equipped Pilates studio and training centre in Swansea – and the only studio in Wales to be led by a second-generation teacher – The Pilates Studio Swansea is truly one of a kind. Run by owner/teacher-trainer Fera Smith, the Studio specialises in private/semi-private Pilates sessions and small group sessions, as well as comprehensively training Pilates teachers to the highest level. On the back of her double recognition in this programme, we had the pleasure of catching up with Fera. When Joseph Pilates – the man behind this eponymous mind-body exercise – passed away in 1967, Romana Kryzanowska, his protégé, was invited to run his studio in New York City. In the late 1980s, Romana would even go on to write the original training programme for Pilates, which would explode in popularity the following decade. What is notable about this is that Fera had the pleasure of training with Romana in New York and Chicago, meaning that she was quite literally taught by the person who wrote the training manual on Pilates. Upon completing the training program, Fera worked in several top Pilates studios, gaining invaluable teaching experience as well as experience in running successful studios. The result is The Pilates Studio Swansea, offering the highest calibre of Pilates teaching possible, with Fera’s expertise spanning the entire system and methodology. Across the sessions run by the Studio, there is an emphasis on a holistic approach of the original principles of Pilates, allowing participants to fully understand what ‘The Work’ entails and to explore the elements of Pilates that work best for them. Sessions utilise all apparatus, (a range of equipment intrinsic to the method) including mat and reformer. Exploring this further, Fera explained: “The Pilates Studio Swansea remains true to the original concepts of the Pilates methodology, which is to focus the mind on the movement of the body, not just the external form of the exercise, with each client focusing on what their body needs. This is the opposite of most classes, which are designed for clients to mindlessly follow instructions, move without precision and freedom, and disregard the individual needs.” Fera is also passionate about highlighting the unregulated nature of the Pilates industry, which suffers from many of the programmes offered being unsanctioned and bearing little to no resemblance to the original work of Joseph Pilates. The Pilates Studio Swansea is different thanks to its second-generation leadership and connection to a global network of studios through Romana’s Pilates International – a network of the oldest, most rigorously trained teacher and master teacher-trainers in the world. “The intention of The Studio – unlike most in Pilates today – is not to profit from the fastgrowing industry in the world or to claim a share of social media in a crowded market; our focus is acutely serviced orientated – centred on the quality of Pilates and on the clients, cultivating their Pilates journey to build a stronger, more balanced body and life.” Housed in Mumbles, a quiet village on the edge of Swansea, the Studio has avoided a lot of the misinformation and dilution of Pilates that has taken place over the last 20 years or so. Providing Pilates teaching of the highest quality in this community, this classical Pilates teacher is remote enough to have found a niche but situated close enough to the international training centres in London and the Hague to travel there regularly for teaching and training. Fera’s expertise as a second-generation teacher also makes her sought out on a national level. As a result, the intimate yet welcoming community nurtured by Fera has enjoyed a number of guest teachers over the years, who have supported the cause by running workshops or taking over for a week. Fera always welcomes like-minded Pilates aficionados, individuals committed to maintaining the high standards of Pilates teaching as she has been committed to for over 23 years – first from a home studio and now in the current premises since 2016. Boasting a low profile but a strong reputation – Fera never advertised until earlier this year and only did so then to recruit apprentices for her teacher training programme – The Pilates Studio Swansea does not even have a sign. Owing everything to the power of word-of-mouth referrals and endorsements, this business has succeeded as a result of unparalleled teaching and training, international affiliations, rigorous focus on community, and openness to all interested in the original method of Pilates. The Pilates Studio Swansea’s standing as a beacon of trust in an industry rife with opportunists is what sets this studio apart. More information about the full range of Pilates teaching/teacher training offered through Fera and The Pilates Studio Swansea can be found at the web address listed down below. Contact: Fera Smith Company: The Pilates Studio Swansea Web Address: https://www.pilatesswansea.com/ The Pilates Studio Swansea
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