The Archival Swan on the Reformer Inspired by Romana Kryzanowska's Film Footage

Here is the archival Swan on the Reformer as originally performed by Romana on film. The way Romana performed the Swan on film is different from the way she taught it. In all of the film documentation of the original Swan on the Reformer the legs start out straight with the ankles under the Reformer foot straps. The foot straps give the ankles an added sense of security. My favorite part of Romana's archival Swan is that balletic Swan Lake moment with her arms on the second backbend of each set. Romana's love of classical dance really came through in the film footage of her doing Contrology. Did you know that the term "classical Pilates" as described by Romana came from her love of classical body lines? I remember seeing Romana correct a teacher who was doing the Twist variation of the Stomach Massage with her wrists flexed. Romana corrected her by having her extend the line of her wrists and said, "Pilates is classical, not neoclassical." Later, some people began to use the term "classical Pilates" to disparage Pilates teachers of other lineages, but that was not how Romana used it. For me, "archival Pilates" refers to the exercises documented by Joe in film, photos, exercises charts, and advertisements, and "classical Pilates" refers to the exercises taught by Joe's first generation teachers. The classical Pilates that I know comes from my studies with Romana. And like Romana, each of Joe's students naturally put a little bit of themselves into Joe's work.