About Our Pilates Instructors

Laura Ward-Moran/Owner/Instructor/Choreographer:

Mrs. Ward-Moran received a B.A. in Dance from Goucher College in 1999 with a concentration in dance education and a Maryland Teaching Certificate for grades K-12 in dance. She also holds a Certificate in the Language of Dance Fundamentals, as developed by Ann Hutchinson Guest from the Notation Center in London, and is certified in the Authentic PilatesT method of body conditioning, New York.

While a student at Goucher, Mrs. Ward-Moran earned several scholarships, including the Friends of Goucher Dance, the Amy Goldstein Dance Scholarship, the Bond Dance Award, the Summer Studies in Dance scholarship, and a Phi Beta Kappa award for her choreography. Upon graduation, she served as a faculty member of the St. Paul's Schools, the Parkville High School- where she founded a dance program in 1999, and developed dance curriculum for the Harford County Public Schools. In July 2001 she opened the Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance, Inc in Harford County.

Mrs. Ward-Moran began her Pilates studies in 1996 at Goucher College. In February 2002, under the tutelage of master instructors Romana Kryzanowska, Sari Mejia Santo and June Hines, Mrs. Ward-Moran completed over 600hrs of training and certified as an instructor of Authentic PilatesT through Pilates, Inc.® of New York. Mrs. Ward-Moran taught Pilates at Goucher College from 2001-2006, where during her full time status she was assistant to the director, and has also taught academic classes in Pilates for the college dance department as well as modern technique, choreography and Pilates for their Summer Arts Institute. She has instructed several master workshops for Physical Therapists, dance studios, and athletic facilities. The American Whole Health Network recognizes Mrs. Ward-Moran as an individual certified to offer Pilates as an alternative health option as part of a discount program through many large insurance agencies.

In 2004 Mrs. Ward-Moran received her Level 5 IITP Pilates Teacher Certification from Romana's Pilates. She is a member of the Pilates Method Alliance and the Maryland Dance Council. She participates yearly in professional continuing education courses with Romana's Pilates- True Pilates NY- and is dedicated to teaching pure, authentic Pilates. In addition to her Pilates studies, she has been accredited through ACE to provide continuing education to ACE certified fitness professionals. In 2004 Mrs. Ward-Moran, and colleague Julia Clime created a Pilates fitness CD through their company, In ABSentia Productions, LLC. Most recently Mrs. Ward-Moran attended the 2007 Dance Teacher Conference in NYC. Mrs. Ward-Moran is dedicated to training young dancers' minds and bodies to prepare them for college dance programs and careers.

Email Mrs. Ward-Moran directly to set up a placement class at: mdschoolofballet@comcast.net

 

 

Jessica Stephenson
Jessica Stephenson began her dance training in Austin, TX where she was a member of the Texas Youth Ballet and apprentice of the Austin Contemporary Ballet from 1993-1996. She then moved to Maine where she participated in the Collaborative Outreach Recognition Performance Scholars (CORPS) program on full scholarship, and was a member of the Portland Ballet Company performing various soloist and corps roles in The Nutcracker, Carmina Burana, Bolero, Dream Birds, and other works. In 1999, Jessica was invited to perform with Ram Island Dance in their production of Spectral Evidence. She then moved to New York City to study at the Joffrey Ballet/ New School University BFA program where she worked with David Howard, Eleanor D’Antuano, Rachael Berman, Katharine Posin, among others. She has danced professionally with the New York Dance Theater, VanDance Inc, as well as in many other freelance projects.

In January 2002, Ms. Stephenson moved to Maryland to attend Goucher College where she was an active member of the dance department and honors student in psychology. She received her B.A. in psychology in May 2004 and returned to New York to complete a rigorous apprenticeship of 600+ hours under master Pilates instructors Romana Kryzanowska and Sari Mejia-Santo.

Jessica has worked with many artists and choreographers such as Mia Michaels, Stephen Mills, Kim Epifano, Juliet Forrest, Christopher D’Amboise, Paul Vasterling, and Peter Kalivas, and Robert Moses. She currently teaches Pilates and dance at Goucher College and the Sudbrook Performing Arts Center. Jessica enjoys live music, the ocean, laughter, and is honored to work at the Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance.

Victoria Torrie
Victoria Torrie graduated from Goucher College with a BA majoring in Dance and a minor psychology. She studied Pilates throughout her four years at Goucher, where she studied with Linda Rinier and Laura Ward. She was accepted into Romana's Pilates Instructor Certification Program upon her graduation from Goucher. Victoria spent eight months and over 650 hours in the program apprenticing with Michael Rooks at Pure Joe Pilates in Washington DC and with Romana Kryzanowska, Sari Mejia Santos, and Daria Pace at Drago's Gym in New York City. Since her certification Victoria has taught Pilates at Pure Joe, Mind Body, The Pilates Center, and The Community College of Baltimore County. Victoria continues her Pilates education in lessons with Romana, Sari, Michael, and Continuing Education seminars. She has experience training young athletes, teaching local competitive ice skaters Pilates and ballet. Victoria has also taught ballet and modern dance at the Dance Academy of Baltimore for many years. She continues her dance career as a member of The Moving Spirit Dance Collective in Baltimore MD.

Jennifer Gasparine
Jennifer is a graduate of Goucher College's class of 2001 where she received a BA in Dance with concentrations in performance/choreography and education. While at Goucher she had the opportunity to be selected to perform numerous original choreographic works by guest artists in residence as well as the classic pieces of George Balanchine's "Serenade" and Jose Limon's "Choreographic Offering." Jennifer was awarded many scholarships during her time at Goucher including a summer studies scholarship that contributed to work at the prestigious Limon Dance Foundation in New York City and the Renee Rassa award for commitment and dedication to the arts. Upon graduation, she returned to her home town in New Jersey where she has been sharing her love of dance by teaching age's 3-adult in many local studios.

In 2005, Jennifer moved back to Baltimore where she continued teaching dance and started work towards attaining her True Pilates instructor certification.  She completed over 600 apprentice hours studying in Washington, D.C. with Michael Rooks and Andrea Burkholder as well as traveling to the True Pilates New York Studio under the direction of Romana Kryzanowska, Sari Mejia Santos, and Daria Pace.  In 2007 she received her True Pilates instructor certification and is thrilled to be teaching both dance and pilates at MSBMD.

Christine Gottschalk

Christine Gottschalk graduated from Towson State University in 1993 with a BS degree in Business Administration. After the birth of her second child and becoming a "stay at home mom" she tried Pilates mat class as a way to try something new and get back into shape. Laura Ward-Moran was her first teacher and one of the reasons she became "hooked" on Pilates. Chris practiced Pilates matwork from the fall of 2001 with Laura and in 2005 began pilates apparatus lessons with her. After experiencing what a difference the Pilates system made in her own body and a pure love of the method, she decided to pursue a teaching certification. She completed her pre-requisite apparatus hours with Laura and then tested to get into the Romanas Pilates certification program.

In 2004, Chris obtained a teaching certification for Pilates mat instruction and started teaching mat classes and private lessons in the Bel Air area. In 2006, Chris was accepted into the Romana's Pilates Teacher Training Program. While in the program, Chris studied under Sari Mejia Santo of Romana's Pilates and True Pilates New York, NY, Michael Rooks and Andrea Burkholder of Pure Joe Studios in Washington, DC, and Junes Hines of Junes Hines Pilates in Rydal, PA. Chris finished the program in February 2008.

Lana Firestone

Lana Firestone moved to Bel Air, MD in May 2002. In January 2003 she signed up for a pilates mat class with Laura Ward-Moran. She immediately knew that pilates was unlike any other method of exercise she had ever participated in. That summer, Lana started taking some apparatus lessons with Laura. She felt what a difference pilates made in her body and knew that pilates was more that just a means of working out. Although Lana holds a BS in criminal justice, she knew that this field would not allow the flexibility she wanted around her family. With her love of pilates, she knew this would be the perfect career change she was looking for. In 2004 Lana received a teaching certification for pilates mat and started teaching group mat classes as well a private instruction in the Bel Air area.

Lana completed her prerequisite hours with Laura and was accepted into the Romanas Pilates Certification program in 2006. Lana completed over 600 apprentice hours studying under Michael Rooks and Andrea Burkholder at Pure Joe Pilates Studios in Washington DC., and Reston VA. She also traveled to the True Pilates Studio in New York and studied under the direction of Romana Kryzanowska, Sari Mejia Santos and Daria Pace. In 2007, she received her True Pilates Teacher Certification and is happy to be working with Laura again at the MSBMD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certified Pilates Instructors:
Jessica Stephenson, Lindsey Puclowski, Laura Ward-Moran