By Chiara Sebastiani
In Lucca there is a place where Pilates manifests itself in its most authentic form: a precise method, based on knowledge of the body and the search for balance. It is Studio Pilates Lucca, founded in 2014 by Federica De Santi and today a unique reality: over a thousand square meters dedicated to movement, six rooms – three dedicated to large Pilates machines – and an approach shared with Lino Pantaleoni that combines technical expertise and human sensitivity.
The path that led to the birth of the studio has its roots in classical dance. “I started dancing when I was five years old,” says Federica. Since then a very intense itinerary: the National Academy of Dance, the experience with the school of Marika Besobrasova in Monte Carlo, up to the first Pilates lessons already at the age of fifteen.
“I’ve always liked to work on the body. At a certain point I realized that I wanted to dedicate my mornings to others, not just to the preparation of dance lessons.” In 2008 the official training arrived: Federica concluded the Covatech course in Milan, obtaining the complete diploma on the Pilates method both on the floor and on the main machines. After a few years in another center, the opening of the studio in 2014.But the spark that transforms Pilates into her professional fulcrum has a precise face: one of her first students, back from breast cancer, unable to perform a daily gesture such as taking a car belt. “I spent two weeks getting her to do just that movement. I had to make the nervous and motor systems speak. From there my love for anatomy and the deep functioning of the human body was born.»
Federica says it very clearly: “Pilates is not gentle gymnastics”. To explain the complexity of the method, he goes back to the origins. Joseph Hubertus Pilates – from Pilatu to “Pilates” due to a transcription error at the entrance to Ellis Island – was a frail man, often sick, who dedicated his entire life to studying anatomy, boxing, animal movement and biomechanics to obtain a functional and strong body.
During his imprisonment on the Isle of Man, during the war, he began to use bed springs to create the first prototypes of the machinery: the embryo of the Reformer and the Cadillac. His method was not called Pilates but Contrology, the conscious “control” of movement: mind and body working together, a principle that is still the basis of every lesson today.It is in New York, under Martha Graham’s studio, that the method is partly softened to adapt to the needs of the dancers – but without losing its intensity and deep structure.
At Studio Pilates Lucca we work following a mixed philosophy: respect for the classic method, but attention to the needs of today’s person. “Classic Pilates is very difficult,” explains Federica. “The 34 original matwork exercises are so challenging that often not everyone can complete them. This is why we integrate the contemporary, which allows necessary adaptations for those with postural problems, scoliosis, neck pain, stiffness due to a sedentary lifestyle or disorders related to intestinal motility, such as constipation.”
The routes can be individual, in pairs or in small groups. But what distinguishes the study is methodological certainty: teachers are trained internally, with the same school of thought, avoiding disparities in approach that could generate confusion or risks.
Lino proudly points this out: “We are the largest Pilates studio in Italy: over 1,000 square meters. We have three rooms equipped with Reformer, Cadillac, Barrel, Chair, CoreAlign – we are the only center in Tuscany with five CoreAlign – Ped-O-Pull, Spine Corrector and many other instruments.”
Training is the real trademark. “Those who teach here must know anatomy, physiology, biomechanics of movement. We work every day with people with pathologies: multiple sclerosis, stroke, rheumatism, fibromyalgia, post-operative, post-pregnancy. You can’t improvise.”
Federica herself continues to study: “I’m redoing an entire anatomy course, three intensive weekends, even though I’ve been teaching for seventeen years.”
The effects of well-executed Pilates speak for themselves. “A boy told us: I was convinced that he would not do anything to me. I had taken ten lessons and that was it. After a month I felt reborn.”
Above all, freedom of movement, posture and joint mobility improve. “Those who practice stop thinking about pain, because the body is functioning again. Although it is not a therapy, it can support complex paths and support those who live in delicate situations. “We have people who arrive with canes or mobility difficulties and regain autonomy. The body changes, and the perception of oneself changes. I have 88-year-old students who say that after class they feel ready to run a marathon.”
Joseph Pilates’ phrase also stands out in the studio: “In 10 lessons you will feel the difference, in 20 you will see the difference, in 30 you will have a new body.”
To those who have never tried Pilates, Federica replies without hesitation: “Because the quality of your life will improve significantly.”At Studio Pilates Lucca you don’t just practice Pilates: dance is a fundamental part of the center’s identity. Alongside the three rooms dedicated to large machinery and work on conscious movement, the studio offers ballet, modern, contemporary, Caribbean dance courses, preparatory courses for children and courses also dedicated to adults. An artistic dimension that complements and completes the more technical one of Pilates, creating a place where body, expressiveness and well-being coexist in a unique balance. A place that moves, changes and grows, just like the people who pass through it. At Studio Pilates Lucca, movement is not just exercise: it is a return to oneself, to the freedom of a body that works and a life that flows better. It is here that many discover not only a method, but a new possibility.
Info: Studio Danza Pilates Lucca ssd arl / Via Girolamo Savonarola, Lucca / Tel. 0583 56294 / www.pilateslucca.com / info@pilateslucca.com
