MEET THE TEAM
Neil Smith
Cat Proudfoot
Dawn Ingram
Hayley Graham
ABOUT MARGATE PILATES STUDIO
Margate Pilates Studio was established in 2018 by Neil Smith and Cat Proudfoot to provide Pilates classes for all. Having both taught in Margate for around 4 years, and realising Neil was the first Pilates teacher Cat had ever been to, it made sense to work together to create a dedicated space for Pilates in Margate.
We keep our classes small to ensure the highest standard of teaching for any body of any ability. We wouldn't have it any other way.
Neil Smith
Having had back issues from an early age & 2 spinal operations in 2001 & 2003, a Physiotherapist recommended Pilates. After a few sessions Neil’s back pain was almost gone, through sitting and standing with better posture and finding everyday tasks and movement so much easier. It worked so well that in 2004 Neil decided to become an Pilates teacher.
Neil trained with the Pilates Institute and qualified as an instructor in 2004. In 2012, Neil spent four years studying with Karin Locher (2nd generation teacher) from Contrology-Pilates-Method Education, one of only two UK schools accredited by the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA).
Read an interview with Neil to find out more
Cat Proudfoot
Having suffered with back pain after a gymnastics injury, Cat started practising Pilates at the age of 17. She has always had a keen interest in movement and found Pilates not only supported her body better, but she grew in confidence too.
Cat completed her Matwork training through the Pilates Foundation in 2015 and went on to qualify on the apparatus early 2019. She is now a member of the board for the Pilates Foundation.
She has gone on to qualify as a Somatics teacher, Somatics uses the mind-body connection to help you survey your internal self and listen to signals your body is sending about areas of pain, discomfort, or imbalance. These practices allow you to access more information about the ways you hold on to your experiences and emotions in your body.
Known for her keen interest in Womens’ health and hypermobility Cat prides herself on providing a supportive and empowering environment for any body that comes through her doors. Working on functional movement to not only assist you in class, but also in everyday life.
Hayley Graham
Hayley Graham is a face you’ll be seeing a little more of here at Margate Pilates Studio. Hayley
is training with Cat's teacher Sasha Caddell in London accredited through the Pilates Foundation. Having practiced Pilates for 15 years Hayley decided she wanted to share her love for this movement practice with others and her upbeat energy and fun loving manner make her classes focussed but fun!
Hayley's matwork training concluded in March of 2021 and she has moved on now towards completing her apparatus training. She will be spending a lot of time assisting and observing with Cat in the studio as her mentor while she deepens her knowledge as a teacher and becomes and even better teacher than she already is!
Dawn Ingram
Dawn qualified as a Personal Trainer in 2016. Following this she trained with Yoga London in 2017, qualifying as an instructor for Yoga as well as Yoga for Pre and Post-Natal Pregnancy.
She recently completed a Yoga Reloaded course. This honours the tradition of Yoga but incorporates today’s knowledge of science and biomechanics. Experimenting with new ideas she has been following The Foot Collective principles. This takes the ideas of going barefoot to improve the posture, motion and physical strength.
After experiencing some one-to-ones with Neil for her scoliosis, Dawn studied with Polestar Pilates to teach mat-based Pilates. In the coming months she will also qualify to teach studio-equipment based Pilates.