Movement with meaning.
Pilates instruction, remedial work and research with Marcelle Volckaert — a practice built on breath, alignment and body integrity. Lisbon, Marvão & online.
A body that holds together.
I have been teaching Pilates for over twenty years, on three continents and in different languages.
From my introduction to ballet at four years old, through my study of the human body under Jennifer Paynter and full instructor certification with STOTT Pilates (Canada) and PTAF (South Africa), my search has always been the same: how to make the body work correctly.
I teach Matwork, Pilates Equipment and Barre — as well as Remedial classes and workshops for musicians, dancers, performing artists and other specialists.
- Certification
- STOTT Pilates
PTAF Conditioning - Research
- MMus — Stellenbosch
cum laude
Choose your practice.
Private
Sessions
Programmes tailored to your body's needs. The most focused route into the method.
Explore 02 / Small groupGroup
Classes
Matwork and equipment classes kept small so no one is missed.
Explore 03 / OnlinePilates
Barre
Ballet-inspired, chair-based, online. Movement, music and joy — a full hour.
Explore 04 / RemedialRemedial
Pilates
For diagnosed back, neck and hip issues. Small groups or private — with high success.
ExploreThe performer's body.
Pilates programmes designed around the tension patterns each instrument, voice and discipline imposes.
Breath, resonance, presence.
Pilates for singers, grounded in my Master's research on Pilates warm-up for classical voice.
Micro-stability, macro-line.
Injury rehabilitation, alignment correction and confidence for dancers of every level.
For musicians and ensembles.
Workshops hosted for institutions including the Marvão International Academy of Music, Art and Science.
An interpretative phenomenological analysis exploring the influence of a Pilates warm-up in singers.
Awarded cum laude by Stellenbosch University. Published in the Post-ip journal. The research grounds how I teach today, and informs my ongoing work with singers and musicians.
Read the researchWhat clients say.
M.B. · PolicewomanThe MRI showed I had a protruding disc on the sciatic nerve. Two years of Pilates later, the surgeon called off the operation. "Just carry on with Pilates."
R.E. · Career womanI fractured part of my lower spine. Two years on, I am pain free and I have a far greater understanding of what my body wants and how to work with it.
J.V. · Barre onlineA perfect blend of creative, technical and physical challenge. The workout ranges between the restorativeness of Pilates and the vigour of barre — all to some really great classical music.
A short conversation is usually enough to point you in the right direction.
Tell me where your body is now and where you'd like it to be — I'll suggest a way in.
Contact Marcelle