The Spring’s Name Was Joe

By Siri Galliano

If you think you are a really good teacher, watch someone actually taught by Joe teaching and pick up some powerful pointers in the newly released DVD by Jillian Hessel.

Carola Trier, like her mentor Joe Pilates, was German as well as a performer. She was the first person authorized in the 1950’s to open another Contrology studio. In fact Joe built her equipment, which is still used by her protégé, Jillian Hessel.

This Southern California DVD workshop was filmed in the golden days of 1989 before there were lawsuits, organizations or certifications. In the foreground asking questions includes many teachers who will become the popular and powerful influences of the next generation;  a beautiful MariJose Bloom, a curious Michael Levy, my serious Siri self, and an unrecognizably healthy Elisabeth Larkam on whom Carola demonstrates the Breathing Pinwheel.

The cover of the DVD is a happy, tiny woman in a 1950’s photo on an original raised Mat with legs; an apparatus that is still not duplicated today.

Click here to see clips from the DVD.

Carola Trier was an acrobatic contortionist. One day on her roller skates in Vaudeville she was doing handstands and twists on a stage and had an unfortunate slip, tearing all the ligaments in her knee. The performer prior to Carola left the stage waxed, leading to her injury. “It was very bad and then I went to Joe. I was 29 years old. I sat in his nice chair and it flew back. He looked at the knee and said, ‘Yeah. it hurts, but that’s nothing’. He gave me one spring and it was always with me when traveling. The spring’s name was Joe.”

Carola’s style begins with a postural alignment analysis, emphasizing the tripod of the feet and “posterior lateral breathing”. Next, a young Hessel generously demonstrates her abdominals and ribs working by stripping to her fitness bra as Carola instructs her to “deeply exhale and keep [the] exhalation and draw the muscles up.”
“Check on them”, meaning the students. The five foot tall Carola is commanding in her no-nonsense approach. “If they are alive, they can do it!.”

The MATWORK Chapter is perfect, and would have made a better beginning. Trier’s leg circles are different than what is now considered New York Classical Pilates. They are wide and out of the box, but then again she was a contortionist!
Her voice, even with bad audio recording, is still strong with each “IN-hale and Ex-hale”. She continually accentuates her S’s as she says, “Resisssst”!

If you are unclear about the Jacknife, it is gorgeous in this video and teaches how the teacher spots the angles.
While teaching the Teaser she has the students put their legs on the instructor’s thighs, reminiscing “We always said ‘whistle coming up”, adding a Teaser with heels beats. “I do a hundred of these everyday” confides the sweet old woman with a red scarf around her neck.

The handles on the Mat makes the Hip Teaser easier to perform, and for those without the Mat Carola demonstrates how to use the teacher’s ankles.

There are many directions new teachers can learn from and the older teachers delight in; “Move long! Move long! It is a feeling of lengthening. It is such difficult terminology and how people take it,” reveals Trier. The audience audibly gasps at how she manipulates and works and pulls and stretches the willing Hessel, truly demonstrating the teacher-student job.

“We do ten, not twelve, and not eight,” Carola says in a strong voice during the Reformer Chapter. She uses simple language, “Stretch as you inhale, bend as you exhale” and uses the same supporting hand that Joe uses in recently released archival footage of Pilates instructing Eve Gentry. The hands are on the thighs during the first position and on the calves aligning and supporting the legs during other foot positions.

During the Spine Corrector Chapter we see the seldom performed Helicopter along with the Spine Arch into Teaser, another lost exercise shared in the Mary Bowen archival DVD’s.

Carola, only having worked on Joe’s original reformers, has some difficulty teaching the original work on the Balanced Body reformers. Frustrated when the straps are too short for the Backstroke, the box to big, the risers too high, Carola often yells at Jillian, not realizing the Californians have changed Joe’s ratios and resistances on the equipment.
Carola offers advice beyond technique to the teachers. “Give your students the feeling that they are beautiful. Just tell them, ‘you look so handsome.’ When you see they don’t want to talk, don’t talk, just touch them. Tell them something good, don’t just criticize them.”

“Your mind will never be clear if your body is not physically fit. You have to do it everyday”.

The juxtaposition of photos sixty years ago, twenty years ago and modern graphics works well. What is down in production value is at the top in quality instruction before all the deviations and variations were created from some instructors taking Carola’s workshop. Sometimes the music works, sometimes it is too loud. (Although using the German music is a nice touch.) Jillian Hessel’s added voice is lyrical and pleasant to listen to.

This is a labor of love and an important document.

The Pilates industry’s only magazine is not concerned with publishing anything on dead teachers, preferring to promote the fusions and fantasies of modern teachers. In my opinion, the more authentic work that is available, the more the Pilates professional can choose for themselves.

If you missed Joe or Clara, Romana, Eve or Carola, don’t miss this DVD.   This is a must purchase for your Pilates knowledge!

About the Author: Siri Galliano travels to big and small studios all over the world to teach safety on equipment and the Traditional Work.  She is the director of the Traditional Big Bear Pilates Intensive which is being held August 21,22,23 2009 in the mountains of Southern California and can be reached at liveartpilates@earthlink.net.

Click here for the Big Bear Pilates Intensive Schedule

Tags: Carola Trier, Jillian Hessel, siri galliano