Tania Huddart 

Tania Huddart is a Master Pilates Instructor, a Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) certified Pilates instructor, and the owner of Hearts and Bones Pilates^® Centre. She came to Pilates training through a career in teaching dance.

Pilates training and experience

Tania started her Pilates training in the mid-1990s in London with the acclaimed Pilates instructor, Lesley Ackland.

Tania completed her training through The PhysicalMind Institute in the USA, becoming a certified Pilates instructor in The Method^® Pilates in 2000. The Institute, founded in 1991, is deeply rooted in the pioneering body conditioning work done by Joseph Pilates, his wife Clara, and their original studio team in New York. The training is based on the work of Eve Gentry, an original Master Instructor who had worked with Joseph Pilates for 22 years. 

Tania returned to New Zealand and established Hearts and Bones Pilates Centre in 2002. The following year, she undertook further training with the PhysicalMind Institute in New York and became a Master Pilates Instructor (qualified to teach Pilates instructors).

In 2008, she became the first New Zealand Pilates instructor certified through the Pilates Method Alliance, the professional association and certifying agency for Pilates instructors.

Read more about the Pilates Method Alliance

Instructor training and workshops

Tania first taught instructor training courses in 2003, when the Hearts and Bones Pilates Centre became the training studio for the PhysicalMind Institute in New Zealand.

In 2007, Tania launched Hearts and Bones Pilates Centre’s own instructor training courses based on guidelines set out by the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA).

Since 2007, Tania has designed and delivered Pilates workshops across New Zealand for Dance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ). She has also given workshops for other dance groups and organisations such as the Teachers' Refresher Course Committee, Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), and the British Ballet Organisation (BBO). 

Tania has delivered Pilates workshops in London, England (The Pilates Room, 2006) and in Brisbane, Australia (Body Integration Studio, 2008). 

Pilates articles

Tania has written articles for dance, health, and Pilates publications including DANZ Quarterly, Healthwise Magazine, and The Pilates Forum.

Dance meets Pilates

Tania has a Diploma in Ballet from the University of Cape Town, South Africa (1990) and a Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Teaching Diploma. She also has a Bachelor of Philosophy (Hons) in dance contextual studies from Durham University (England).

Tania has taught ballet in Stockholm (Sweden), London (England), Oakland (USA), and Wellington (New Zealand).

Tania was a member of the Health Team at the New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD) from 2003 – 2006 where she gave Pilates instruction to approximately 80 dancers. She has also developed a series of warm-up and cool-down exercises, together with physiotherapist Susan Simpson, for the American Jazz Dance Affiliation (AJDA). These exercises are now part of the syllabus and are examinable.

Tania is currently an advisory board member for a joint project between DANZ and Skills Active. The project aims to develop one of Tania’s dance-teaching workshops into a New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) qualification for dance teachers.