“Movement should be approached like life; with enthusiasm, joy, and gratitude. For movement is life, and life is movement, and we get out of it what we put into it.”
— Ron Fletcher
Ron Fletcher (1921 – 2011)
was a first-generation Pilates Elder who trained with modern-dance pioneer Martha Graham before earning acclaim as a choreographer for Broadway, television, and the Ice Capades. By blending Pilates principles with modern-dance artistry, he helped transform the Method from a niche New York studio practice into a widely respected mind-body discipline embraced across the West Coast and beyond.
Early life and dance career
Ron was born on May 29, 1921, in Dogtown, Missouri, and began his professional life in New York, first in advertising and later on stage performing works by Martha Graham and Yeichi Nimura. The demanding rehearsal and performance schedule aggravated a chronic knee injury in the late 1940s, prompting fellow dancer Allegra Kent to recommend Joseph and Clara Pilates’ studio at 939 Eighth Avenue.
Training with Joseph and Clara Pilates
Ron took his first Body Contrology lesson in 1948 at the Pilates’ New York studio. Over the next two decades, he returned regularly to deepen his practice, internalizing their emphasis on breath, precision, alignment, and whole-body integration. Through this work, he not only rehabilitated his knee but also developed a profound understanding of the would eventually inspire his own distinctive approach to movement.
Bringing Pilates to the West Coast
On May 1, 1972, Ron opened The Ron Fletcher Studio for Body Contrology above a salon at Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, the first dedicated Pilates studio on the West Coast. Hollywood clients such as Barbra Streisand, Ali MacGraw, Candice Bergen, and Nancy Reagan flocked to his sessions, creating early mainstream buzz for the method.
Method innovations
Staying true to the core Contrology principles yet drawing on his own dance background, Ron expanded the repertoire in several lasting ways:
Standing work and dynamic sequencing: He was among the first Elders to present Pilates in upright, flowing series that trained balance and rhythm.
Towel-based shoulder and upper-body work, floor sequences, and barre variations: These developments allowed students without access to large apparatus to still deliver full-body conditioning while preserving Pilates concepts.
Percussive breathing: Ron codified a sharp, rhythmic exhale to drive core engagement and spinal elongation, a hallmark of his lineage.
In 1977 he demonstrated these ideas on The Phil Donahue Show, giving many television viewers their first glimpse of Pilates. The following year he published Every Body Is Beautiful, articulating his conviction that mindful movement could cultivate both strength and self-confidence.
Industry impact and legacy
Ron’s studio became a training ground for teachers who later spread his approach worldwide, and his emphasis on breath, continuous flow, and expressive quality broadened public perception of what Pilates could be.
Ron taught workshops until shortly before his death on December 6, 2011 at his home in Stonewall, Texas, aged 90. Today, practitioners who trained directly with Ron continue to share his refined interpretation of Joseph and Clara Pilates’ work, maintaining his dedication to disciplined technique, artistic movement, and the transformative power of breath.
