About Us

Marie-José Blom, Partner/President

As creator, Partner & President of SmartSpine Works Company,  Marie-José has more than twenty years of master teacher training to help your back on track.

Marie-José specializes in deep core strengthening, pelvic work, and work for the spine. She is widely known for her work in Conditioning Techniques for dance and dance injuries, and is the founder and director of Long Beach Dance Conditioning in Long Beach, CA, and Angel City Body Kinetics in Marina del Rey, CA (the home for Pilates & Gyrotonic®).

Marie-José conducts and directs the Advances in Pilates Technique, an internationally acclaimed professional teacher's training program established in 1991. As a faculty member at Southern CA Loyola Marymount University, she taught anatomy/kinesiology and physiology for the Department of Dance for which she received the 2006 spotlight award.

Marie-José has established programs at various facilities internationally and is in great demand for lectures and presentations, both locally and internationally for institutes, physical therapists and movement educators. She is a regular presenter for Balanced Body University, and she most recently founded the SmartSpine™ Works Company.

Her mission is clear:
"The implementation of movement sciences, elevating Pilates into the Twenty-first Century!"

 

Katherine Thackston, Partner/Vice-President

With more than fifteen years experience in the entertainment industry working behind the scenes as an event and project manager, Katherine Thackston transcended into marketing, sales, art direction and graphic design through her passion for creation and business.

Katherine has worked on projects throughout the U.S., as well as Europe and Dubai, including supervising and producing many large-scale marketing campaigns and events.

It was after a shoulder injury and two subsequent surgeries that Katherine became involved in rehabilitative work with Pilates. Through these connections, she met Marie-José and their SmartSpine adventure began.

In addition to being a Partner, Katherine is the Vice President of Marketing & Sales for SmartSpine™ Works Company. You can contact her directly to participate in the SmartPartners Program or chat with her on the SmartForum.

 

Lotte Paarup, European Education Partner & Distributor

Physiotherapist (PT), Pilates instructor, Fitness and Health Professional

Lotte Paarup is a Danish Physiotherapist and Pilates instructor. Lotte is very experienced in the field of exercise - she has done almost everything from Jane Fonda aerobics to Functional Fitness concepts. Lotte has been working in the field of exercise, health and wellbeing since she was very young. Today she works mainly with Pilates and rehabilitation.

Lotte is a in specialist in Pilates, respiratory training, rehabilitation, feet, back, posture and functional training. She combines her knowledge from the Therapy and the Functional Fitness fields into her own interpretation of Pilates – with Breathing as the key role in everything she does.

She combines her knowledge from the Therapy and the Functional Fitness fields into her own interpretation of Pilates. Pilates wise she is very open minded, which she shows in her teaching and interpretation of the method. Lotte has studied a lot of different Pilates styles.

She loves the power of movement and to influence the way people think, behave and experience their bodies. One of Lotte´s important missions is to communicate, that exercise is about more than just getting a flat stomach – exercise is also about achieving improved general health and wellbeing and a more functional body and mind. Breathwork is a key word for Lotte´s work. She is also an expert in working with the Feet.

Lotte has been running courses and workshops through a lot of years in Denmark and Internationally. She is a keen writer in magazines, has been the author of 8 books and published 25 DVD´s. Also she has been producing exercise programs for Danish television. In her studio she loves to help people reach their personal goals of exercise whether it is getting a stronger body or recovering after an injury.

 

 

Hilde Gudding, Danish Education Manager

Hilde Gudding is a Physiotherapist, since 2003. Hildes interest for the body and movement has given her a long experience, both as a teacher and as a instructor over the years.

Hilde has developed the rahabilitationmodel "RehabDesign". The most important rule in the model, is that theory and praxis MUST be connected and one unit.

Hilde has been working as a private practisioner, since 2003. She also teaches her RehabDesign courses in co-orperation with Den Intelligente Krop, and doing Pilates educations as well.

In her daily work, you can find her in Copenhagen, at clinic klinikwestend.

Hilde also teaches at the danish school for Physiotheray in Copenhagen.