A Lifetime In Motion

A protégée of Eve Gentry, Suzanne Gutterson is the personification of the power of Pilates: Now 90, she shows no signs of slowing down.

- Anne Marie O’Connor

Pilates Style: Tell us about your childhood.

Suzanne Gutterson: I was born in New York City, but grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC. I started taking dance lessons—ballet and tap—when I was five. I danced wherever anyone was willing to tolerate seeing a kid dance, which included tap dancing on a wooden platform at a local radio station. In my teens, I danced in theaters all over town. During World War II, I performed with the USO, warming up the troops before such headliners as Jack Benny and Ina Ray Hutton and her all-girl band.

After that, I spent a year in New York studying dance, voice and acting. Realizing a need for more formal education, I went to Bennington College in Vermont, where I studied modern dance and choreography with Bill Bales of the Dudley-Maslow-Bales Trio.

PS: What did you do after college?

Suzanne: I was married right after graduation. My husband worked for IBM, and we moved around a lot. I would teach dance at a local studio or even open up my own. When we moved to Long Island, NY, I opened two studios—one in Port Washington, the other in Locust Valley. Being close to Manhattan gave me a wonderful opportunity to study more dance, including at the West Side YMCA with various members of the Alvin Ailey company, doing a lot of Lester Horton Technique and Afro-Cuban, moving to pulsating drum beats. I loved it. I studied ballet with Richard Thomas, where I met Bruce King, who besides being a dancer, turned out to be a Pilates teacher.

I wanted my technique classes with young children to include more expressive improvisation. With good luck, I found exactly what I wanted at the 92nd Street Y with classes in creative movement for children, taught by the best in the business—Bonnie Bird and Virginia Tanner.