Pilates with Melody
Pilates, Pregnancy and more
About
Melody
About:
Melody (Rothman) Heath is an experienced dancer, dance instructor, choreographer and fitness instructor. She has over 30 years of dance experience, over 10 years of fitness instructor experience and over 13 years dance teaching experience. Melody has also been giving Pilates classes for more than 7 years.
Her first dance lessons started at the age of 4 years old in Johannesburg at Alberton Dance Academy (DESA) throughout her school years. During high school she continued to advance and completed her Advanced Levels in most dance styles (Ballet, Modern, Tap & Hip hop) and took extra classes in Jazz, Contemporary and Spanish dance at various levels. Here she won the Best Choreographer competition for 2 years running in her final high school years.
Melody has also been involved in many stage performances from a young age and eventually had the opportunity to travel to the USA to get exposure to international theater standards and dance performance standards. After matriculating she had the opportunity to be part of a small private dance company (QUAD) in Johannesburg where they focused on performing at events.
She then moved her focus to fitness and completed her Fitness Instructor Diploma through Reebok Alliance and worked at various Fitness Clubs throughout Johannesburg including Virgin Actives and later at joined SuperSport Health and Fitness Adventure Club in Bloemfontein. While in Bloemfontein Melody was approached to choreograph dances for the KKNK arts festival, Oudtshoorn, and also assisted a performing artist with choreography for a competition. Later she became interested in dance teaching, and started giving part-time dance lessons at Creare Training Centre in Bloemfontein.
In 2002 Melody joined Creare Training Centre as a full-time dance lecturer (Bloemfontein) where she studied further in Dance Education and Ministry Dance styles and later became Head of the Dance Academy until 2009. During this time she taught dance and traveled nationally and internationally (including countries such as Russia) as a dance teacher and pioneered dance subjects and dance education syllabi. She assisted and taught dance part time until 2015.
In 2015 Melody assisted a Biokeneticist in Bloemfontein by giving Pilates classes to her clients. From their her passion for Pilates just grew and she wanted to explore this avenue more.
In 2016 Melody moved up to Pretoria where she was given the opportunity to further her studies in Pilates. She completed her Comprehensive Teaching Certificate through BASI SA while giving Pilates classes full time at Pilates on Wekker, which later became Body Intellect Mooikloof. She taught at Body Intellect Mooikloof and Body Intellect Brooklyn for over 3 years.
During the Pandemic in 2020 - 2021, Melody, like so many other people, had to adapt and did no longer teach at a Studio, but instead went to Clients houses to teach Pilates in the comfort of their own homes.
In 2022 MoveAtion Pilates Studio opened it doors in Lynnwood Ridge Pretoria East.
The Real Challenge:
Event though it seemed as if Melody flourished in all aspects, she was actually battling sickness and pain throughout her whole life. She was constantly in and out of hospital with various ailments and at a stage the Doctors said she would not live to the age of 9. At one stage, at a very young age, Melody was losing the ability to walk and the Doctors advised that she needed to do some form of exercise or she would not walk any longer. Her mom did not give up on her and enrolled her at a Dance Studio at the tender age of 4. It was a battle to go to the Dance class every time, as her mom carried her in and carried her out. Throughout the years, she got stronger and stronger, but she constantly needed to “keep moving” or she would start suffering from muscle pains, back aches and all sorts of strange ailments.
As an Adult in her late 20’s she was diagnosed with Graves disease (Hyperthyroidism), which came with its own set of battles. It took over a year to get her thyroid “under control” and is until today something that she needs to keep an eye on.
Dancing did not only open up many doors for Melody, but led her to study further in exercise, fitness and eventually Pilates. What she realised is that, as soon as she stops “Moving”, she starts feeling in pain again and as if life just wants to overwhelm her. But as soon as she starts exercising and “Moving” again, she feels better and can accomplish things. This realisation of this, birthed her new Pilates Studio – “MoveAtion Pilates Studio”, as she also wants to Motivate people through movement. When you start moving, you start feeling better, you start getting better and eventually it gives you the motivation to accomplish all of those things that you have set your sights upon that you thought would be impossible to do.
