Alida Esmail – Root & Rise: Mat Pilates
Sep 15 ⇾ Dec 01 2026 (Tuesday)
19:30 to 20:30
*All prices are taxes included
- $25 per class
- $130 for 6-class package
- $220 for the full session (12 classes)
- Payment by Interac e-transfer to alidaesmail@gmail.com (preferred) or cash on-site (exact change only).
- A receipt (including GST/QST numbers) is available on request.
- All payments are non-refundable. Packages are valid at Studio 303 only, usable any time between September and December 2026.
Fill out this form and follow payment instructions: https://forms.gle/yTKZTrW8FMtLuyvX7
If you have any issues with the form, please contact me at alidaesmail@gmail.com
French & English
© Alida Esmail
Objective
This class explores how deep core engagement, postural alignment, and breath can make movement more efficient and sustainable. Central questions: how do we activate the right muscles at the right time, without over-gripping or losing ease? How does breath support effort rather than work against it? Geared toward dancers and movement artists cross-training their technique, but open to anyone curious about how their body organizes itself. Participants will leave with a clearer sense of their own postural habits, tools for engaging deep stabilizers on demand, and a more efficient, breath-connected way of moving through daily life and practice. All in all, you’ll leave the class feeling longer and stronger!
Content
Each class moves through a structured Pilates mat sequence drawn from classical Pilates repertoire:
- breath-based warm-up
- deep core activations,
- full-body exercises
Expect guided verbal cueing with some hands-on tactile support (according to individual consent).
Some classes will have themes focusing on different parts of the body while others will be a full body experience.
Classes are dynamic including slower moments to explore isolating specific muscle groups and faster moments to integrate this deeper engagement into fuller exercises.
Music may be used in the background during some classes, but most will be without music.
Features
Biography
Alida Esmail is a Montreal-based movement educator with over a decade of teaching experience across studios throughout the city. She holds a BFA in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University and a MSc in Rehabilitation Sciences from Université de Montréal, and has worked as a teaching assistant for Anatomy in Motion at Concordia — a subject she remains endlessly curious about, digging into how the body can move more efficiently and finding ways to prevent injury along the way. Her movement background is equally wide-ranging, spanning Bharatanatyam, Kalaripayattu, Pilates, Contemporary Dance, Ballroom and Latin partner dancing, and somatics. This blend of academic and embodied training shapes how she teaches: precise, curious, and attentive to how different movement traditions inform and strengthen one another. Alida approaches every class as an opportunity to help students move with greater awareness, efficiency, and ease in their own bodies.