My Story

Maxine Sherman

Founder, Grateful Pilates
Former Principal Dancer
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre
and The Martha Graham Company

 
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I am forever grateful I found Pilates in NYC in the 1980s, a whimsical decade of dance, desire, and disco.

As fate would have it, while touring as principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre I fractured my left ankle, not on the majestic Acropolis stage during a performance, but as a tourist sightseeing and romping among the ancient Greek ruins.

Pilates not only helped me rehabilitate my ankle, it lifted my spirits and aligned my bones. It also prevented further injuries during my fortuitous career dancing for the amazing and soulful Alvin Ailey and the demanding and brilliant modern dance pioneer, Martha Graham.

I was born way too late to meet Joe Pilates, but I am in awe of the physics of the equipment — the reformer, the Cadillac (love the name) — as well as the mental and physical system of choreography that keeps giving back. Pilates has evolved (since 1935) and revolutionized the way the body functions proposing proper breath, alignment and precision of form.

I am forever grateful for Pilates because it’s my way of giving back all that it’s given me.

My Dance Career

Maxine Sherman was a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and the Martha Graham Dance Company. During her 20+ career she interpreted, created and performed in nearly every leading role in the repertory of these classic contemporary dance companies.

Maxine was personally coached by Alvin and Martha, (2 of the great choreographers of the 20th century) as a representative of their final living artistry. In addition Maxine danced with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolph Nureyev in Appalachian Spring, Dance in America Series, PBS documentaries, and has performed in multiple opera houses throughout the world.

She has also been on faculty at universities, festivals and dance studios throughout the US restaging Ailey and Graham works and sharing her knowledge of technique, performance craft, body conditioning and dance making. Maxine has an MFA in Performance Studies from Sarah Lawrence College, where she has been an artist-in-residence and guest faculty professor.

Maxine received a choreography award from ARTS/Westchester in 2013 and her most recent collaboration with RiverArts® as performer and choreographer in “Braiding” was honored with an NEA grant. Maxine is a dance ambassador, bringing dance companies to Westchester, NY, where she is the Artistic Director of Dance and Artistic Advisor at RiverArts®.

My Credentials

Maxine Sherman began studying Pilates with Robert Fitzgerald, a direct disciple of Joseph Pilates in NYC in 1979 and is a graduate of the Kane School (2002) working with Kelly Kane, Kuan Hui Chew, Liz Koch, Continuum Practitioners and others in workshops addressing psoas dysfunction, scoliosis, foot alignment and other special populations.

Maxine has a BA from NYU in Body Therapies where she studied Kinetic Awareness, a bodymind method developed by Elaine Summers, after the innovative physical education teacher, Elsa Gindler. This ballwork system has inspired her to explore rubber balls, foam rollers, the MELT METHOD and other “self-care” techniques that restore healthy circulation, tight connective tissue and improve poor movement bio-mechanics.

In addition, Maxine is a certified GYROTONIC® TOWER/ PULLEY and GYROKINESIS instructor, studying with founder Juliu Horvath, Hilary Cartwright, Leda Franklin, Debra Rose and others. Her continuing education has led her to “wrapping,” GYROTONIC® Ladder and GYROTONER. There are so many benefits to this unique and original method, which coordinates movement, breath and mental focus.

As well as her extensive dance knowledge, Maxine practices YOGA daily for meditative and physical integration and rides her spin bike to increase heart rate, and improve circulation and stamina.