OUR INSTRUCTORS

ROBIN WARDEN BLUM

Owner Robin Warden Blum began taking Pilates to strengthen her posture and technique as a professional dancer. Robin received her dance training from North Carolina School of the Arts and East Carolina University. She has performed with Atlanta Ballet, Southern Ballet Theatre, Columbia City Ballet, and has appeared as a guest artist throughout Europe and the Eastern United States.

While dancing with Atlanta Ballet, Robin began her apprenticeship with Master Teacher Romana Kryzanowska. Under her leadership and teacher trainers Sari Pace and Juanita Lopez, Robin was certified and began teaching in 1997. She was the first person to be certified in the state of Georgia.

In 2005 Romana asked Robin to assist in the training of instructors She has helped trained many of the instructors teaching Pilates in Atlanta today.

Robin has a true passion for Pilates and is inspired by her clients and the remarkable changes it has made in their lives, and her own.

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MEGAN RUMPEL

Megan Rumpel attended Palm Beach Atlantic University where she received a dance major specializing in modern and contemporary dance. She was also a member of the school's dance company for two years. In 2005 she moved to Atlanta where she was selected to be part of a dance agency through which she has appeared in several commercials and local dance shows around Atlanta. She became interested in Pilates after several reoccurring dance injuries was looking to find a way to strengthen and stretch her body while learning injury prevention and having fun. Within less than a month of taking Pilates she knew this was the career for her. She began her Romana's Pilates training in January of 2006 at Body Central and finished in November of that same year. She has worked with the top Romana's Pilates® trainers since the beginning of her training, including Juanita Lopez, Michael Rooks, and Jerome Weinberg. She continues to further her education each year through workshops and private training.
Meg enjoys challenging her clients while keeping it new and fun each session. "I always make sure to emphasize that you will get as much out of Pilates as you give to it. I love that there is no injury too great or fitness level too small, Pilates is for everyone."

LORRAINE FIELDS

Lorraine had two choices for a career; become a physical therapist or professional dancer. Lorraine chose the latter after graduating from New York City's High School of Performing Arts. She enjoyed an illustrious thirty plus year career as a professional actor/singer/dancer, assistant choreographer, choreographer and dialogue coach. Lorraine has worked nationally and internationally in film, television, video and stage productions with such artists and legends as Sammy Davis, Jr., Juliette Prowse, George Chakiris, Jamie Foxx and Michael Jackson to name but a few.
Lorraine's interest in Pilates was inspired by her friend Mari Winsor. She began studying Romana's Pilates with Mari and master trainers -  Sari Majia Santo, Juanita Lopez, Cynthia Shipley, Dorothee Vandewalle, Trish Garland, Ton Voogt, Michael Frizke, Jerome Weinberg, Robin Blum, and of course, Romana herself.
Lorraine has been certified in Romana's Pilates since 2009.
"Pilates continues to empower me. It's an elixir for grace, power, balance and posture - a sure way to stay young and fit in body and mind". Lorraine wants to empower her clients so they too can enjoy these qualities of life!

DAWN MULLINS

In 1997, Dawn met Romana Kryzanowska at the Atlanta Ballet where she was training the first group of certified instructors in the Southeast. The first impression was life changing because Romana exhibited a freedom of movement and grace uncommon in a woman of her age. Dawn realized that the practice could be beneficial for a lifetime and would improve the quality of her life. She became a dedicated student of Pilates for the next 12 years, first at the Pilates Studio of the Atlanta Ballet and then Body Central, under the tutorage of Robin Warden Blum.
Dawn reflects about being taught the Hundred by George Balanchine in the early 1960's while she was a member of the Atlanta Civic Ballet, the predecessor of the Atlanta Ballet. Having enjoyed a successful 30 year career in real estate in Atlanta, she entered the intensive certification program of Romana's Pilates® in January of 2009, completing the program with Sari Mejia Santo (Romana's daughter) in New York in June, 2010. Dawn is enthusiastic about helping others reshape their body, move gracefully, increase flexibility and strength and "stand up tall".

CAROLINE CLONIGER

Caroline received her Romana's Pilates® Certification in 2010. Encountering Pilates in 1990, she has continuously practiced the system growing stronger with each year. Along the way, Caroline discovered and became a believer in the precision of Joseph Pilate's original system. In 2009 Caroline decided to take time off from her design career to become certified as an instructor so that she can share the knowledge she has gained and help others discover the benefits of the Pilates system in it's purest form.
Caroline has studied with, Sari Majia Santo, Juanita Lopez, Daria Pace, Cynthia Shipley, Jerome Weinberg, Robin Blum and Laney Abernathy. Caroline earned her degree in interior design from the University of Tennessee, graduating cum laude. During her design career, Caroline has been responsible for the design of over 10,000,000 square feet of corporate space. Caroline continues to balance her passion for improving the work environment and for strengthening the mind and body through Pilates.

MARTHA DUNLEVIE

Martha completed her certification with True Pilates of New York in 2011 but has been a dedicated Pilates student for 11 years. She has been an athlete all her life; starting as a tennis player in her teens, becoming very involved in both tennis and running as a young adult, and most recently has embraced the game of golf. She is very involved in the Atlanta Women’s Golf Association and participates in tournaments across the state.
A bad knee and back problems brought Martha to Pilates on the advice of a friend. She has never looked back; it was a perfect match from the beginning. Her feeling is that Pilates is the most effective way to improve strength, flexibility, and balance which are the cornerstones of athletic endeavors at any age.
Her passion is working with athletes and would-be athletes at any age as well as those with physical maladies to explore how Pilates can enable them to maximize their goals. She also believes strongly in the overall sense of well-being and energy that Pilates engenders.Martha has an undergraduate degree in education and Master’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has worked for both AT&T, Georgia Pacific, and as an independent consultant in the telecommunications arena.

KELLI SHIELDS

Kelli began her career as a ballet and modern dancer. After training with and earning a teaching certificate from Alvin Ailey, she fractured her spine and continued taking Pilates for her recovery. Although Kelli soon left her pursuit of a career in dance, she continued taking Pilates for all of its many benefits. Following her dancing career, Kelli earned her BA in interior design and created residential interior spaces for many years before delving into set design. After a long week of filming and compromising physical efforts, she went to Pilates to find relief. Being reminded of her love of movement, she returned to her first love, movement with the mind-body connection. Kelli earned a teaching certificate from The Pilates Center in Boulder, and after taking lessons at Body Central, she decided to hone her skills even further. She entered the Romanas Pilates certification program, completed her training, and received hercertificate in July of 2018

SARAH HENNESSEY

Sarah began taking Pilates lessons at Body Central in 2009. She fell in love with how amazing Pilates made her body and mind feel. She realized Pilates is a lifestyle that promotes quality of life, and optimal health through controlled movement, breathing and posture. She had a strong desire to pursue all these benefits for her own life, and to share with others. She began her training with Romana's Pilates under master level instructors and completed the 600+ hour intensive program in 2011. Sarah graduated with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2012 from Emory University and has a BS in Exercise Science from the College of Charleston. She is a full time physical therapist with Emory Healthcare. Sarah is excited to share her knowledge and passion for Pilates to promote a higher quality of life and health with others.

MARY JOHNSON

Mary came to Pilates as many do, to heal the hurts from working at a desk all day long. She stayed with it for 20 plus years because it continues to challenge her physically and mentally. She became an instructor out of admiration of the beautiful simplicity and discipline of the Romana’s Pilates Classical Method. Mary has a gymnastics background, and has been taught and exposed to some of the best Pilates teachers worldwide, including Romana Kryzanowska, whom she met at the beginning of her Pilates journey, more than 20 years ago. She loves that the method provides a lifelong activity to maintain a strong core, flexibility, balance, and a great full body work out.

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JENNIFER ALLEN

Jennifer began teaching exercise in 2007 as a Personal Fitness Trainer through the American Council on Exercise. After a few years of experience, she became curious and interested in improving the alignment and posture of her clients. After a friend introduced her to Pilates in 2010, she immediately fell in love with the Method and knew it would be perfect for making her own body and her clients' bodies to feel and move better. She received teacher training in various styles of Pilates and began teaching it to her clients right away. Jennifer became certified by the Pilates Method Alliance in August of 2015. After taking many lessons and classes in some Romana's Pilates studios, Jennifer felt the benefits and wanted to learn how to teach this way. Through the years, she took continuing education workshops with Mejo Wiggin, Kathi Ross-Nash, Bob Leikens, Jay Grimes, Shari Berkowitz, Dana Santi, Chris Robinson, and Moses Urbano and many others trained by Romana. It became clear to Jennifer that teachers who had been trained by Romana are the most compelling, knowledgeable, and effective teachers in the industry. In 2020, Jennifer decided to pursue the Romana's Pilates Instructor Training Program with Body Central as her home studio under the guidance of Robin Blum. In 2021, Jennifer finished the 600 hours required in the studio. Jennifer loves getting to know the teachers and clients at Body Central and for this reason in conjunction with her new understanding of the work, she feels confident this was the greatest career decision she has ever made.