YOGA, PILATES, AERIAL HAMMOCK
About Us
Circus/Sideshow and married duo Arrie Fae and Meghann Bronson-Davidson founded BODYHOO Studios to create a space where people of all kinds and backgrounds can experience world-class health and fitness training in an accepting and supportive environment. Serving the Ridgewood and Bushwick communities, BODYHOO Studios is proud to be a licensed location of Moving Strength Pilates, founded by Patricia Ruiz. BODYHOO Studios is a local Queer owned business offering Pilates Machine classes in Reformer, Tower, and Cardio Jump Board, as well as Yoga, Pilates Mat, and Aerial Hammock classes. We also offer Private & Duo training sessions. In addition, BODYHOO's climate controlled studio is available for rental for rehearsals, photoshoots, events and private parties.
Mission Statement
BODYHOO is a call to action! In Sideshow, the Ballyhoo is an extravagant, flamboyant, sensational outcry to get audiences' attention. At BODYHOO, we want you to give the same attention to the extravagant, flamboyant, sensation that you are! It's an invitation to celebrate moving your body.
Core Philosophy
We believe that movement is healthy. Moving our bodies is a natural form of exercise and expression that we all share. Far too often, judgement, anxiety, and social pressures keep us from enjoying healthy movement. At BODYHOO, we are passionate about creating a vibrant, encouraging place where people of all kinds and backgrounds can enjoy amazing support and fitness training. Our teachers have 20 + years of experience working with diverse populations including rehabilitation, injury and chronic pain, pre and postnatal, and the Trans and Non-Binary community.
Owners
Arrie Fae Bronson-Davidson
Arrie Fae Bronson-Davidson is believed to be the reincarnation of Ruth St. Denis. She is a Trans Woman Circus/Sideshow Artist, Choreographer and Host/Comedienne. Arrie is a highly sought after Yoga and Pilates Teacher, and Thai Massage Practitioner. Her training is in the Lotus Palm method, Raja and Hatha traditions, and certification at Peak Pilates. She has studied on scholarship at Pennsylvania Ballet, Gus Giordano Jazz/Chicago, and and earned her MFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University, and an undergraduate degree in Dance/Kinesiology from Texas Tech University. Major performance credits include Seán Curran Company, Ballet Preljocaj, and Justin Bond’s House of Whimsy. She is regularly produced at The Box NYC and Coney Island USA. Together with her wife as The Brides, she co-directs Kinetic Cabaret Productions and produces Pixie Grit Circus Sideshow. She is a 2016 Jerome Robbins Foundation Artist In Residence at Dixon Place, and winner of The Bindlestiff First of May Award in 2021. Arrie serves on the board of directors of the Sideshow Hootenanny as the Director of Education.
Meghann Bronson-Davidson
Meghann Bronson-Davidson, Miss Coney Island 2024, is a Circus/Sideshow Performer and Dancer. She received an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and a BFA in Dance and Dance Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. Major performance highlights include Jazz at Lincoln Center, PULP at Radio City Music Hall, and Michael Clark’s residency at Whitney Museum of American Art. Together with her wife as The Brides, she is regularly produced at The Box NYC, House of YES, and Coney Island USA. The two co-direct Kinetic Cabaret Productions and produce Pixie Grit Circus Sideshow. Meg received her Pilates certification from Moving Strength, and C-I Training™ (conditioning-with-imagery) from Donna Krasnow. Meg's teaching philosophy incorporates both conditioning exercises for muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility, as well as visualization and imagery work for neuromuscular re-patterning. Meg is currently on staff at Harkness Center for Dance Injuries.
Patrica Ruiz
One of a handful of women owners of Pilates businesses with multiple locations in New York City, Patricia taught privately in a small studio for many years before opening her first multi-station studio on the Upper East Side eight years ago. The new space was an instant success, thanks to her unique approach to Pilates instruction — offering small classes that provide the personalized attention of a private session. Next came a much larger location on the Upper West Side, made larger still in a recent expansion, and then another on the UES, four times the size of the first. Moving Strength now employs 28 instructors who teach 35 different types of classes, many of them unique to the studio, and a full schedule of private sessions at each location.
Often featured in the media, including on Health.com and in AM New York and Eye In, Moving Strength is PMA-approved to train and certify Pilates instructors and is the exclusive East Coast practitioner of Power Plate, the innovative technology popular in L.A., for which she and instructor Raleigh Veach developed Pilates Power Plate Strength, Yoga Plate Strength and TRX Plate Strength. The studio also conducts teacher trainings and workshops in Pelvic Floor, Working with Older Populations and Perinatal Teacher Training.
A former professional dancer, Patricia has performed with some of New York’s most renowned dance companies. She is a certified Personal Trainer through ACE, and holds certifications in Pilates, Power Plate, yoga, Resist-a-Ball, TRX Suspension Training and Healthy Moms Perinatal Training. Patricia has been hands-on in designing and, with the help of friends and family, building the locations, and is often called in to consult on setting up apparatus in new studios.
Teachers
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Olivia Parente
Olivia is a Brooklyn based dancer and movement teacher from Connecticut. She completed her
200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training at Kripalu School of Yoga in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and
holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Olivia
came to yoga through dance as a teenager and uses her extensive movement background and
knowledge to inform her teaching. Shortly after coming to yoga as a movement-based practice,
Olivia came to value the powerful benefits of yoga as a meditative and spiritual practice as well.
She is passionate about teaching from a place of compassion and kindness and aims to offer
classes that allow students to grow both mentally and physically. Olivia also teaches yoga and
dance to children alongside working professionally in modern dance. She believes that yoga is
for anyone and everyone and her classes encourage both acceptance and appreciation for the self.
Ciara Byrne
Ciara Byrne, originally from Tampa Florida, is now a Brooklyn based dancer and Pilates instructor. She found her love for Pilates while studying dance at Florida State University. Shortly after graduating college she began her training to become a Pilates Instructor. Ciara is a certified Pilates Mat and Reformer instructor through Balanced Body Pilates. Her passion for movement drives her in every aspect of life. Ciara's teaching is both energized and restorative- she believes in movement being a form of healing for the body and soul.
Stephanie Rivas
Stephanie is a New York City based movement artist. Originally from FL, she got her undergrad and Masters in Dance, with a focus on Dance Science and Medicine. She began teaching Pilates at her university before moving to NYC. She believes in health and wellness for all bodies and strives to create a warm environment in all her classes. She believes Pilates should be accessible for all people. Stephanie is still dancing and building her Pilates skills at BODYHOO. She is very excited to be a part of this studio!
Reviews
"The most important thing about BODYHOO, Arrie and Meghann told me, is that it feels like a welcoming, non-judgmental, supportive environment."
"BODYHOO Studios is worth your attention. If the name alone didn’t get you, you’ll be hooked by the inspiring story and mission of this inclusive, anything-but-basic Bushwick pilates studio."
Contact Us
BODYHOO Studios
Home of Moving Strength Brooklyn
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1080 Wyckoff Avenue, 2nd Floor
Ridgewood NY, 11385
Entrance through La Raza Coffee
Phone: (212) 763-7710
Email: bodyhoostudios@gmail.com