OUR Team

"To achieve the highest accomplishments within the scope of our capabilities in all walks of life we must constantly strive to acquire strong, healthy bodies and develop our minds to the limits of our ability."

- Joseph H Pilates

Ellena Conland smiling head shot

ELLENA CONLAND
FOUNDER/TEACHER

 

LOATA STEWART
TEACHER

REBECCA SIMES
TEACHER

HANNAH DELLOW
TEACHER

All teachers at Performance Pilates are Polestar Pilates trained.

  • DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE PILATES. FULLY CERTIFIED PILATES INSTRUCTOR, EDUCATOR AND MENTOR.

    Ellena is a pilates instructor with a background in dance performance and a wealth of knowledge in movement and rehabilitation. She has been a pilates teacher, educator and mentor both in London and New Zealand for the past 27 years. A forerunner in Wellington's pilates scene, Ellena launched her brand, Performance Pilates, in 2002 when she opened one of the country's first commercial studios.

    She has Bachelor of Dance from Melbourne University (Victorian College of the Arts, 1993), a Post-Graduate Certificate in Arts Administration (Auckland University Business School, 1997) and has a Master’s in Health Science, Sport and Exercise (Massey University, 2024).

    Ellena's professional affiliations include her work as a mentor, examiner, and educator as part of the New Zealand Teaching Faculty for Polestar Pilates Education (USA) from 2010, as well as being a Teacher Trainer for Body Control Pilates (UK) from 1998 to 2001. Performance Pilates is a host site for Polestar Pilates Education teacher training courses and has just completed the hosting for the 2024 course. Ellena is also a member of the interim Pilates Aotearoa Council.

    After learning pilates in Melbourne with Craig Phillips (Dance Medicine) Ellena first taught classes for Maree Seerdon at The Body Studio, now Polestar Pilates Studio, in Auckland from 1996 – 1998, then moved to London, teaching at the South Kensington Pilates and Rehabilitation Studio of renowned teacher and author Gordon Thomson from 1998 - 2001.  While in London she trained in the Classical Pilates Method under the tutelage of Mitzi Pippa, a student of the renowned Romana Kryzanowska in Greece, and Miranda Bass of Body Control Pilates.  She has attended Stott Pilates workshops with Moira Stott (now Merrithew) in both London and Sydney and participated in one of the first ever courses taught by movement practitioner Eric Franklin in 2000 in London.  With a passion for dance, she has taught at the New Zealand School of Dance, in Wellington and her thesis was on the Prevalence, Incidence and Severity of Overuse Injury in Elite, pre-professional Dancers.

    Ellena is highly motivated and passionate about pilates, health, exercise and injury prevention, with a love of teaching pilates including many areas, such as general fitness, pregnancy and post-natal, rehabilitation and dance. She also has has a passion for mentoring others to be pilates teachers. She continues to regularly attend conferences and courses, some of which have included Neuro-Muscular Rehabilitation, Advanced Spine, Scoliosis, Women’s Health, Exercise and the Pelvic Floor, Pilates for Rotational Sports, Pilates for Dancers and the Buteyko Method Breathing. She is currently studying for a Menopause Coaching Certification to aid her knowledge and help clients in this area.

    Ellena creates an atmosphere within her classes that is inclusive and fun, where people can have a safe and effective workout, working to their own ability and at their own pace, in order to be strong and flexible. This is a collaborative process, and one of teaching and learning, on both sides.

  • PILATES TEACHER

    Starting at the studio in 2003 as a client, Loata quickly realized the benefits of pilates for her own strength and flexibility. Slowing down movement and focusing on how the body moves became essential for her busy life. Loata decided she would like to become a teacher and so she initially trained with Performance Pilates (Ellena Conland and Alison Townsend) and later with Polestar Pilates. Loata has been teaching for ten years and is an asset to the studio. She enjoys working with clients of all ages and fitness levels, but is particularly interested in how pilates can assist in managing the natural aging process.

  • LYMPHOEDEMA THERAPIST, PILATES INSTRUCTOR, REGISTERED NURSE

    Rebecca was born in New Zealand and grew up in Wellington. She has always had an interest in wellbeing and travelled to India to practise and learn Ashtanga Yoga with Sri K Patabhi Jois in Mysore. Subsequently she moved back to NZ with her husband to raise their family. During this time she continued to teach yoga and nurse. She also completed a Diploma of Ayurvedic Diet and Lifestyle Management through Wellpark College in Auckland and studied the Non-Linear Movement Method with Michaela Boehm in Australia.

    A Registered Nurse, she completed her Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Sydney. Rebecca has over 25 years of experience as a Registered Nurse in Oncology, Orthopaedics and Respiratory Medicine as well as Primary Care.

    She has completed ALERT Lymphoedema Training Program for health professionals through Macquarie University, Sydney Australia to become a qualified Lymphoedema Therapist. Trained in Manual Lymphatic drainage for Lymphoedema and Lipedema clients, Compression Therapy and measuring for garments.

    Rebecca’s clients include those rehabilitating from cancer or cancer treatments, clients who are recovering from athletic injuries or chronic fatigue and those who are looking for relaxation of the sympathetic nervous system.

    She has also completed her Polestar Pilates Comprehensive Teacher Training and teaches pilates classes for Cancer Rehab and Lymphoedema/Lipedema management.

    Rebecca’s passion is to support people to feel their best at whatever stage of life they are in and she uses the skills and experience she has accumulated over the years to inform her.