Instructor Trainer bios

Maki graduated from the Kobe College Music Department with a B.A. in Dance. While in college, she studied classical ballet (the Graham Technique), and also began to study Pilates and anatomy. After graduating from college, she received her STOTT PILATES^® Full Certification and is currently working as an Instructor Trainer for Merrithew^® specializing in STOTT PILATES and Total Barre^® at the Licensed Training Center Bcube in Osaka, Japan. With her passion for dance, Maki loves to incorporate elements of dance performance into her lessons which has enabled her to share her knowledge with students when teaching at the Takarazuka Musical Academy.

Mami Ozaki first encountered Pilates after restarting ballet lessons as an adult. She was looking for an appropriate conditioning class. Pilates relieved Mami of the back pain she’d been suffering from for a long time, and fell in love with Pilates instantly.

It had been a long-time dream of hers to work in the health and wellness industry, so she decided to become a Pilates instructor.

Mami became a STOTT PILATES^® Certified Instructor in 2015 and joined Sky Pilates Tokyo.

Manami, a professional dancer, discovered and fell in love with Pilates because of its ability to help her heal from persistent back pain that had bothered her for years. Through Pilates, she also learned to focus on how her body moves, thus strengthening her mind-body connection.

In 2009, Manami became a Certified Instructor, joining Sky Pilates Tokyo in 2015. In 2023, she achieved the milestone of becoming a STOTT PILATES^® Instructor Trainer. She is passionate about continuously improving her teaching skills to help her clients achieve their fitness goals.

A professional dancer, Marcela was first introduced to Pilates as a means of conditioning. She became a STOTT PILATES^® Certified Instructor in 2001 and in 2007 she progressed to the level of Merrithew^® Lead Instructor Trainer specializing in STOTT PILATES. Marcela’s long history with body movement began with training in classical dance in her native Argentina and moved on to contemporary dance in New York City. She has danced with Ballet Proarte in Argentina, the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, and Ballet de l’Opera de Paris, and holds a French National Diploma in Ballet Teaching and a National Certification from the American Ballet Theatre. Able to teach in English, French and Spanish, Marcela’s passion is an integrated education with a focus on strong technique, a healthy body and a free spirit.

Marelize Badenhorst has been a lover of dance, art and movement all her life. While studying design and classical ballet, she discovered Pilates to treat an injury. She gained so much from Pilates as a way of rehabilitating and realigning her body that it inspired her to change career paths. She enrolled in one of the first STOTT PILATES^® Matwork courses offered by Merrithew^® in Cape Town, South Africa in 2000 and opened Pilates studios in Durbanville and Stellenbosch later that year.

Since then, Marelize has lived abroad and traveled all over the world to study. She has taught and presented in Oxford and at the YMCA in London. Marelize founded Precision Pilates, the first Merrithew Licensed Training Center in the Netherlands and hosted courses and workshops at various studios and facilities throughout the Netherlands. She re-located to South Africa with her family in 2014. She is currently working as an instructor and mentor at Core Concepts Pilates and Rehabilitation, a niche rehab-studio in her hometown of Durbanville, and is a part of the education team at The Movement Lab, a Merrithew Licensed Training Center in Cape Town.

Marelize is comfortable teaching a wide range of individuals, from seniors to young athletes in need of sport-specific training. Her greatest pleasure comes from assisting clients in a post-rehab program using Pilates to realign and strengthen their bodies to be the best that they can be, and sharing her knowledge and passion for Pilates with her students.