Dena Drotar was originally attracted to Pilates for its tremendous ability to heal bodies. She has the rare gift of recognizing physical imbalances.

Dena works with clients who are recovering from injury, those who want to get stronger and in better shape, teachers wanting to learn Classical Pilates or who want to up their game, as well as those who find their bodies changing with age.

Dena Joy is a teacher of teachers, and has been for the past 10 years, bringing her knowledge of classical Pilates to merge with her students’ knowledge, helping teachers to deepen their relationship with Pilates and their own bodies so they can take what they learn to their students.

Dena believes that JOY is a key element in learning and healing. It is through joy, that we can open to new information and experience, and make the kind of breakthroughs that bring your Pilates practice to the next level.

She teaches workshops worldwide to Pilates instructors, guiding them to deepen their personal practice and to have confidence in their unique strengths and talents as teachers.

Dena is a founding teacher at Vintage Pilates, where she worked alongside Jay Grimes, Sandy Shimoda and Karen Frischmann. She has assisted Jay Grimes’ workshops since 2010. She is a graduate of Jay’s Graduate Program THE WORK™, and has completed the highly-selective follow-up program TEACHING THE WORK. She means business!