Joe, who earned his Pilates Teacher Training Certificate through Texas Christian University’s School for Classical and Contemporary Dance, has been teaching at the studio since 2022. Annette Thurman returned to Chicago after a decade teaching in Los Angeles, where she served as a Senior and Certification Instructor at Whole Body Method and developed an extensive command of the Classical Pilates System. Their backgrounds suggest a studio culture shaped by both formal training and sustained immersion in the tradition.

The atmosphere also carries a sense of continuity and belonging. Pilates Center of Chicago is described not simply as a place to train, but as a community people return to over time. That feeling comes through in the story of Rachel, who continued touring for years while repeatedly coming back to her Pilates home at PCC, and in the experience of rebuilding the body through consistent weekly sessions and guidance from Barbara Katz.

The studio’s role in that process points to a patient, invested style of teaching—one that supports long-term change rather than quick fixes. There is, overall, an uncommon sense of Pilates as a serious craft here: exacting yet supportive, rooted in the classical system while deeply attentive to how bodies recover, strengthen, and evolve. Pilates Center of Chicago brings together rigorous method, experienced instruction, and a studio culture where commitment can deepen over years of practice.