Barry Bird

Barry holds a PITC Diploma in Professional Pilates, and Pilates Moves Certification.

In addition to this he has a Diploma of Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Sydney College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a Certificate of TCM from Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital China. Barry has had a lifelong interest in health and fitness with a martial arts/Traditional Chinese Medicine background.

He was introduced to the Pilates method by his wife Sandy and trained initially with Helen Tardent of Pilates Moves Sydney, Australia.

He trained and worked in Sydney at Pilates Moves and as a freelance instructor.
In 2003, Barry co-founded Evolution Pilates in Leichhardt, Sydney.

Barry has spent twelve years studying and refining his practice in Pilates. He has presented at Mind your Body Pilates conferences in Sydney and together with his wife Sandy he founded Evolution Pilates in Sydney Australia.

In 2006, they established Pilates Focus, Rotorua’s first dedicated Pilates Studio.

In addition to his work in the Pilates Industry, Barry has worked for seventeen years as a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Australia and New Zealand. He is an ACC provider & member of The New Zealand Register of Acupuncturists. His treatment rooms are located on site at Pilates Focus, where he divides his time between teaching Pilates and his TCM clinic.

Sandy Bird

Sandy Bird holds a PITC Diploma in Professional Pilates, and Pilates Moves Certification. In addition to this she has a BA in Theatre Arts/Dance major and a Diploma of Education both from California State University.

Sandy has had an extensive career in dance having taught, studied, performed and choreographed in America and Australia. She has studied and taught the Limon dance method. Her teaching posts include Bodenweiser Dance studio, The Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre, MacDonald College of Performing Arts, The Newtown School of Performing Arts, and The University of New South Wales all in Sydney Australia. She has performed extensively in America and Australia and founded her own Dance Company Ricochet Dance Theatre in Sydney in 1992. Richochet toured throughout New South Wales schools performing lecture/demonstration works for students and teachers.

She has created and presented several Pilates routines for both the FILEX fitness industry and Mind Your Body Pilates conferences. She also developed Pilates Evolution, a DVD produced by Oz Aerobics featuring a workout combining contemporary dance with Pilates repertoire. She served as a board member with Ausdance, an Australian national organizational dance body, for two consecutive years.

Sandy has spent thirteen years studying and refining her practice in Pilates. Together with her husband, Sandy founded Evolution Pilates in Sydney Australia and in 2006, Pilates Focus, based in Rotorua New Zealand.