Monique Lavoie

MONIQUE LAVOIE has been teaching for 35 years. Her formal training as a dance teacher began at the National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program where she graduated in 1985. In 1987, she opened her own exercise and dance studio in downtown Toronto which she operated for 5 years. In 1992, she moved to Winnipeg to start a family but kept active in teaching by introducing the Pilates method of exercise to Manitoba through the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers. In 1997, she opened her first Pilates studio and had begun to train Pilates instructors as Manitoba’s First Licensed Training Facility for STOTT PILATES. By 2002, she owned and operated three Pilates studios in Winnipeg. With this international company as her partner, she began to focus on Instructor Training and was able to develop a national clientele, as well as an international clientele in the US, France, Germany, Switzerland and Finlandwhich she regularly visits to teach courses and workshops. Her training work is now her main focus and is conducted through her company, Pilates Certification Manitoba. She is one of very few bilingual (English/French) STOTT PILATES Instructor Trainers. In 2009, STOTT PILATES recognized Monique’s contributions and teacher qualifications by awarding her the designation of Lead Instructor Trainer, a designation awarded to only thirty of the two hundred and fifty STOTT PILATES instructor trainers worldwide. Despite her busy work and family schedule, Monique still finds time to give Pilates classes to the public. She particularly enjoys working with young dancers from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, knowing from experience the importance of core conditioning as a means of avoiding injury in ensuring a long and satisfying career. Monique recently added ZEN•GA™ instructor Trainer and CORE™ instructor to her repertoire and is also certified in Gyrotonic and with the American Council on Exercise.