Westwood Pilates Instructors

Daniela Escobar

owner and senior teacher
A dancer since the age of five, Daniela’s passion for movement started at an early age. After performing professionally for more than two decades, Daniela began her teaching career as a dance teacher and personal trainer before being introduced to the Pilates method. Her background in dance initially attracted her to the method, but eventually, Daniela fell in love with Classical Pilates and found it to be the only form of movement and exercise that completely changed her body and made her stronger than she had ever been.
Daniela earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and conducted her final research on the impact of the Pilates method on posture using experienced instructors as subjects. She completed her certification program in 2006 and worked with her mentor guiding Pilates trainees for many years. Daniela graduated from the selective Pilates Master’s Program “The Work” at Vintage Pilates in 2015, under the direction of first-generation Teacher Jay Grimes.
Daniela is known for her outgoing, challenging, and detail-oriented style of teaching. She has extensive experience teaching clients of all levels and movement backgrounds, including athletes and the older adult population. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for the method and is the founder and owner of Westwood Pilates.

Jay Grimes

master teacher
Jay began his studies with Joe Pilates in the mid-sixties, and after Joe’s death continued with Joe’s wife, Clara, for another 10 years until her death. Jay began teaching in the original 8th Avenue studio in New York and has since taught all over the world. Jay danced professionally, ballet and Broadway for 18 years, and never had an injury. This he attributes entirely to Pilates.
Jay is valued in the Pilates community for his experience, humility and integrity in maintaining the work of Joe Pilates. Over the years Jay’s clients have ranged from stars of Broadway and Hollywood, music and opera, to politicians, businessmen and housewives, and Olympic athletes. He currently provides ongoing training to instructors, conducting workshops and master classes around the world

Nathalie Gonthier-Thomas

studio teacher & Mar Vista manager
Nathalie is a certified instructor through Jill Cassady’s Pilates Technique, Inc. She first discovered the benefits of Classical Pilates after her pregnancy. From her first private session, she was amazed at how quickly Pilates helped her recover strength, flexibility, and balance and also at how good it made her feel, mentally and emotionally, relieving the physical strains of a busy day.
As she was exploring new careers after years of sitting at a desk job in front of a computer, she started to see a possibility for change in becoming a Certified Pilates Instructor. During her Certification training process she discovered a passion for teaching. She enjoys the social interaction with her clients; getting to know them personally, listening to them, working with them to overcome their fears and helping them with their unique goals without injury.
Her goal is to challenge clients at a pace at which they can comfortably grow and progress, so they feel great regardless of age, gender or physical fitness level.
With her body changing as she ages, Nathalie is constantly learning and growing in the practice of Classical Pilates. Feeling ever stronger, fitter and pain free is what she wishes to share with her clients while staying true to Joseph Pilates’s method.

Francine Rodrigues

studio teacher
Francine received her Bachelor's degree in Physical Education from PUCRS in Brazil in 2012. After working as a swimming teacher for a while, she found her true calling in Pilates.
In 2011, she completed her first certification program in Mat Pilates, and later received a comprehensive Pilates certification in 2015, both from Power Pilates. Subsequently, she earned a Specialist certificate in the Pilates Method in 2017 and a Master’s degree in Human Movement Sciences in 2019, both from UFRGS in Brazil. Francine has participated in numerous conferences, workshops, and seminars related to Pilates in Brazil over the last decade.
To further her studies and seek new challenges, she moved to Los Angeles and now calls Westwood Pilates her home. Francine's main goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Pilates to help them benefit from this transformative method.

Tanya Scott

studio teacher
Tanya is a certified Classical Pilates Instructor with 8 years of experience in practicing and teaching Pilates. Her expertise lies in guiding clients of all skill levels to discover the art of movement rooted in core muscles through the Pilates Method.
Tanya's journey into Pilates began as a solution to her own scoliosis-related lower and upper back pain. As she engaged with the Reformer, Mat, and various Pilates equipment, a deep passion for the practice ignited within her. Eager to share her newfound connection with the world, she embarked on a journey of instruction.
Tanya works with a diverse clientele of all ages and skill levels. She has specialized training to address specific conditions and injuries and recognizes the uniqueness of each body. Her mission is to promote strength, reduce stress, and achieve harmony between the body, mind, and spirit, allowing for a deep self-connection. Regular weekly practice under her guidance promises to empower individuals and provide them with newfound strength to tackle tasks in their daily lives, both big and small.
Tanya's teaching style empowers students to move independently and effectively, with enthusiasm for Pilates and bodily motion. She cultivates core strength, flexibility, and a love for movement through positive reinforcement. Pilates is a lifestyle that can be embraced at any stage of life.

Independent Instructors

Bobbi Green

Bobbi Green has had a lifelong interest in health and fitness. She was introduced to Pilates in college and was immediately fascinated with a new way of exercising that challenged her both mentally and physically. A few years later after moving to Los Angeles, she decided she wanted to pursue her passion for Pilates and make a career change from the music industry.

Bobbi holds a certification in Power Pilates and has been teaching Pilates for over 11 years in Los Angeles. She has spent 8 of those years teaching Pilates in a physical therapy setting. In this environment, she works with clients with many types of injuries and customizes their workouts according to their abilities and personal athletic goals. Bobbi also enjoys and has extensive experience working with seniors and is well versed in classical Pilates. Bobbi's goal is to help people of all ages and levels of physical fitness achieve better posture and elongated muscles, gain more energy, experience pain relief, improve flexibility and overall health.

Asayo Yi

Asayo discovered Pilates when she decided to return to classical ballet upon graduating from University. Realizing that her body needed extra training to meet the demands of dancing, she started taking Pilates, and immediately fell in love. Together with a better understanding of her own body and overall strengthening, she realized she was able to use her body more effectively than she ever had in all the years of dancing as a child and teenager.

Excited about this new discovery of movement and body awareness, she studied with Marie-Jose Blom at Long Beach Dance Conditioning and became a certified Pilates Instructor. She enjoys sharing her love of movement with clients of all ages and fitness levels, including those with physical limitations and injuries. Asayo continues to further her education in both contemporary and classical Pilates to meet the demands of a variety of clients.

Ali Bragard

Allison (Ali) Bragard has studied yoga, massage and Pilates since she was a teenager and she is passionate about how we can truly transform our bodies and our lives through these disciplines. In 2001 she took her first Pilates class and was instantly convinced that “this is what the body is meant to do to stay strong, lean and healthy.” Since then she studied classical Pilates intensely and completed, in 2004, her Comprehensive Pilates Training through Power Pilates in Los Angeles.

She has been teaching since then in studios in California, Australia and France, teaching people of all shapes and sizes, ages and backgrounds. From teenagers to 91 year olds, she has seen how Pilates can truly make a difference. She is thrilled to be at Westwood Pilates, where she approaches her classes with a love for Pilates, a sense of humor, and a desire to help each person find their center, enabling them to live a healthier and happier life.

Regina Santos

“I believe that what one thinks, says and does, has a powerful effect in who they are and what is possible in their lives.”

Regina Santos is movement specialist and behavioral change coach who bases her comprehensive practice on the ideology of “getting centered”, often found in the Pilates method. She helps people get strong & mobile, rehabilitate injury, mitigate pain and minimize stress by teaching them to increase core awareness and integration using the classical Pilates method. Furthermore, she coaches people to optimize the core connections in their minds (and even spirits!) so they can create more fulfillment in their personal and/or professional lives.

A UCLA Graduate, Regina boldy left a successful executive career over twelve years ago, and has since earned credentials from Pilates Technique, the National Academy of Sports Medicine, the International Coach Federation, the Coaches Training International, and is also a Yoga Tune Up® Practitioner. She has taught over 1500 group mat Pilates classes alone, and today, you might find her having fun leading group mat Pilates and barre classes for a premiere global fitness brand. She also enjoys concerts, hiking with her dog, and cooking food for friends and loved ones.

Francesca Kermitch

Francesca Kemitch, a classical Pilates instructor since 2012, was introduced to Pilates in 2011 at Equinox in Santa Monica and immediately fell in love with it.

Trained by Jill Cassady under the legacy of Romana Kryzanowska, she deepened her understanding of Joseph Pilates’s method at Vintage Pilates in 2017, mentored by Pilates Elder Jay Grimes and Sandy Shimoda. As a perpetual student in Vintage Pilates' grad program, Francesca caters to clients of all ages and body types, guiding them toward optimal physical potential and improved quality of life.

Originally from Italy, Francesca, an avid athlete and traveler, channels her love for Pilates into inspiring others to fall in love with the practice.