She called herself “The Archivist.”  With good reason.  Phoebe sticks to the knitting in the work with joy that resonates from her spirit as she teaches, with a refined style, that of a true Pilates Master Teacher.

Nothing sloppy, overdone or overwhelming. Her voice, tempo and manner, like each movement, is subtle, small, succinct and distinctive. The archival work of Joseph Pilates is like the fascia of the body collective. It has a clear thread, a strong fiber, with many layers; the “connective tissue” between each of us as teachers.

Brett Howard, (next on the #PilatesSistersSquad roster in March) cites Bob Liekens as one of his teachers.  Bob always referred to Phoebe Higgins as one of his teachers.  During our session, Phoebe referred to Deborah Lessen while she cued us for the Teaser with the Push-Thru Bar; Deborah refers to Eve Gentry and Carola Trier and thus, the threads of the cloth we wear are crystal clear.

To someone like me, who came to this work late in life (in my case after 45 years of age), the wisdom of these wise, gifted sages of Pilates, is nothing short of pure gold.  Every correction, observation, glance or side-eye from any one of them is worth every bead of sweat it may create.

“Voices of Classical Pilates,“ a collection of essays by the world’s Master Pilates Teachers, arrived the day before this session. I picked it up from my mailbox on my way out the door skimming through Peter Fascia’s introduction and the first few paragraphs of David Freeman’s essay.  Of course, Phoebe would have been in the book, but for ‘unforseen circumstances’  as Peter cited in the introduction, was one of the Masters that missed the edit.  When I got back to the house and reviewed what took place during the session, while editing the images and my thoughts, I flipped to Cary Regan’s chapter, and this paragraph jumped out.

More words are unnecessary.  The Master Teacher’s words are enough.

“Pilates is energy. You’re around a lot of people who are all different ages, who are all doing different things, and who are all at
different skill levels. This spirit, this energy that I’m talking about— Anthony Rabara saw it. He lived it. We worked on the same shift at the studio. Phoebe Higgins lived it. She worked on the same shift with Romana and Sari…. That was 1981 through 1989. That was the spirit in the studio; it was alive; let’s have fun, and oh, laugh. Yet there was serious energy given to exercises; it wasn’t strictness, though, as much it was to “live the movement,” to have fun, to attempt new goals and keep aiming for excellence. In Romana’s space, it was the spirit that I felt. She felt the most important way to grow is to have happiness, to have joy. You have to want something, desire something in order to change the body, for it to move.”

— Cary Regan

---

 

We were honored to have Phoebe’s eyes and hands – IRL – on the six of us for the hour, and equally proud of her willingness to do it with us again.  Many thanks, hugs and kisses to Lisa Serradilla for graciously hosting the 2nd Generation Master Teacher Sessions.