Amber
Yancey
Amber
Yancey first experienced Pilates Mat as a student of the prestigious Alvin
Ailey American Dance Center in New York City, where she later earned a
Certificate of Dance. She had grown up in the gym environment but nothing
changed her body the way that the Pilates exercises did. It was in 1992
that Amber fell in love with Pilates and vowed to one day become an instructor.
Upon
moving to the Washington, DC area in 1994 Amber found herself without
a place to study dance or Pilates. Instead she focused on returning to
school to finish her BS in Health Education, which she eventually completed
at the University of Maryland. In the meantime, Amber found herself working
in fitness and teaching Group Exercise classes for area health clubs.
Amber was
presented with the opportunity to become a certified Yoga instructor in
1998 and just one year later she became a Yoga Instructor Trainer for
Bally Total Fitness. Since then, she has traveled the world for Bally
training franchisees in a multitude of Group Exercise formats and has
presented Pilates Mat at their national supervisor conferences.
In January 2000, Amber's
dream of becoming a Pilates trainer materialized. She studied Pilates
Mat and Allegro with Elizabeth Larkam and Polestar Education and by the
end of the summer was training small group class and private sessions
with clients. Amber helped introduce the Pilates Allegro program to area
Bally Total Fitness clubs, the first major health club chain to establish
Pilates programming in the health club setting. She was responsible for
recruiting, hiring, and training instructors as well as marketing and
selling the program to the general population. It was no easy task, but
Amber's passion for the Pilates Method made the Pilates Allegro program
in DC one of the top three most successful programs in the country for
Bally Total Fitness.
By early 2004 Amber
had started her own business, Jus'
Rhythm Dance and Fitness, vowing to elevate the quality and
integrity of dance and group exercise instruction in metroppolitan area.
She immediately began training clients in her home studio and presenting
master classes and dance workshops throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Word of mouth spread and to date, Amber's client roster includes NFL football
player Madieu Williams and the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders. She also
supplies the area's best Group Exercise Instructors for classes at new
DC Parks and Recreation Centers.
Amber dedicated the
year of 2005 to further studying the Pilates Method. In February of that
year Amber was named the official Pilates Trainer for the Washington Redskins
Cheerleaders. She later completed her coursework and obtained a Certificate
of Graduation of a Practitioner of Pilates Studio from Polestar Education.
She is also a member of the Pilates Method Alliance and continues to travel
for AFAA and Bally Total Fitness as a Yoga Instructor Trainer for both
companies.
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