On Friday, March 24th, I’m teaching a class to benefit the Pilates Transparency Project and the fundraiser to cover the legal fees for Mary Kelly. This fundraiser is important to me not just as a Pilates practitioner, but as someone who has been a writer for most of her life. I’ve made the class available both in-person and via livestream, so anyone can join. This is a mat class; you don’t need any special equipment!
The lawsuit concerns the rights to share historic images of Joseph and Clara Pilates, as well as other archival materials. Let me be clear that I do believe in copyright. As a poet, I have friends who have had their work plagiarized. It’s terrible, overwhelmingly difficult to resolve, and it causes harm. I’ve witnessed how creators of all kinds are harmed by copyright infringement. However, looking at the available evidence, I genuinely believe that what’s happening here is that Pilates teachers are being sued and/or having their social media accounts for sharing photos and other documents that should, in fact, be free to share. I believe in intellectual property; I also believe that spurious lawsuits over sharable documents are unfair and need to be fought. That’s why I joined the list of teachers who are hosting classes all through the month of March to help fundraising efforts.
Class Details
When: Friday, March 24th at 5:30 pm CST
Where: At The Corner Reformer in Saint Louis or via Zoom
Price: Suggested donation is $34; contribute what you can
Registration for in-person: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/565833371847
Registration for livestream: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/565850302487
Description: This mat class will flow through a version of the classical mat Pilates order. At the end, we will practice some standing exercises from both Joe’s and Romana’s archival routines.
If you’re free, join me for a fun class, start your weekend off right, and help me support Pilates history!
