Excel Pilates Annapolis, Inc. - Find a Graduate

Kerry De Vivo, owner of Excel Pilates Annapolis, is the only second generation Pilates teacher in the Annapolis area. She is a certified teacher of The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning by The Pilates Center in Boulder, CO (1995) and by Romana Kryzanowska at The Pilates Studio in New York, NY (1996). She has a MFA degree in Dance and a BS degree in Arts Management and is Pink Ribbon Program certified. Kerry is currently serving as the Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Authentic Pilates Union.

Kerry began studying Pilates in 1986 with Steve Giordano at SUNY Purchase. In 1998, after completing her Pilates certifications, she co-founded Excel Movement Studios, a 5,000 square foot Pilates studio, with Lesa McLaughlin in Washington, DC. In 2002, she co-founded Excel Pilates Annapolis. The DC and Annapolis, MD studios now operate as affiliate studios along with Excel Pilates Northern Virginia (owned by Alexandra Buss Adams).

Kerry is co-director of Excel’s Pilates Teacher Training Program established in 2001. The Pilates Teacher Training Program at Excel is dedicated to providing high quality training in the original work of Joseph H. Pilates. It is a comprehensive and in-depth one year training program requiring a minimum of 700 hours of hands-on training in all levels of the Pilates mat and apparatus work. Kerry works directly with apprentices to help them reach their goals of teaching Pilates. In 2009, Kerry helped develop Excel’s Pilates Teacher Mentor Program designed to offer high level continuing education to area Pilates teachers. In 2012 Kerry developed The Pilates Princples Program, a high-caliber continuing education program.

Kerry is co-author of the research study, The Benefits of The Pilates Method for Shoulder Stabilization in Dancers, which was presented at the Annual Symposium on Medical Problems of Musicians and Dancers in Aspen, CO. She is also co-author of Excel’s Pilates Teacher Training Program Manual and Excel’s Pilates Mat Guide. Kerry is also a featured contributing writer in Peter Fiasca’s book, Voices of Classical Pilates.

From 2009 – 2011, Excel Pilates Annapolis was an official studio of The Pilates Center’s Masters Program. During this time Kerry participated as an approved presenter for continuing education workshops for The Pilates Center’s Masters Program.

Kerry has taught the Pilates Method to clients who range in age from 12-80, applying Pilates in its original form for performance improvement, injury prevention, rehabilitation and fitness. Her clients have ranged from professional athletes including runners, dancers, gymnasts, football players, cyclists and rowers, to individuals with specific health issues, to those simply looking for an alternative fitness program. Kerry has worked with clients in pre and post-surgery situations.

Kerry has presented workshops on Pilates at Physical Therapy clinics and at the University of Colorado/Boulder, the University of Maryland/College Park, the University of Florida/Gainesville, and Shenandoah University. She taught Pilates in Relation to Modern Dance, a semester long class at George Washington University. Kerry was a Panelist on the Careers in Dance Board, representing Pilates, for the 8th Annual Dance Medicine Symposium at Goucher College in March 1998.

In addition to Pilates, Kerry had a professional career in dance. She served on the dance faculty at George Washington University and the University of Maryland at College Park. She performed with Deborah Riley Dance Projects for three years as a principle company member and has performed with Liz Lerman, Adrienne Clancey and Mim Rosen. Her choreography and performances have been viewed in Colorado, New York, Maryland, Washington D.C, the U.K. and Australia.

Kerry’s teaching is inspired by the life’s work of Joseph Pilates as well as her clients. “It is a gift to work with a client for years and assist them in their journey to meet their health goals. Pilates is a sound method of body conditioning that is rich with detail and powerful with results. It is a method that is applicable to all bodies.”

Kerry is dedicated to the original Pilates method and to offering clients an empowering fitness experience. She only employs teachers who share the same commitment.