Larissa Tanis
Pilates Instructor
Larissa Tanis has over nine years of experience as a fully certified Stott Pilates instructor who is cross-training in BASI. She has an associate degree and studied at the Kendall College of Art and Design while having a career in the performing arts as a professional ballerina with Milwaukee Ballet II and dancing with the main company, six years with Grand Rapids Ballet, performing in the Key West Nutcracker, and dancing in opera productions including Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Diego Opera’s “Samson and Delilah” and “Aida.” Larissa has also been a ballet instructor. She brings her Pilates and dance background to the aspects and dynamics of range of motion, balance, coordination, core strengthening, and alignment.
She trained in dance with various teachers, including her mother, Chicago’s Multi-Cultural Dance Center, and summer intensives of San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre (New York City). Larissa became attracted to Pilates, utilizing this discipline to help rehab from a dance injury.
Larissa comes to us from her hometown of Chicago, Illinois, where she worked at two premier venues: the Woman’s Athletic Club of Chicago and the East Bank Club. She is devoted to helping clients define and achieve their health and fitness goals. She has expertise in “special populations,” including post-physical therapy rehab, patients with joint, hip, mobility, alignment, knee and ankle problems, shoulder, back, neurological and other issues, and patients with spinal stenosis, and more. She conducts postural analysis and develops individuated programs for achieving optimal outcomes. She has worked with all adult age ranges and with athletes, including tennis and baseball players, golfers, and more.