PILATES STYLE
Tell us about your childhood.
DARIEN GOLD
I was born in San Bernardino, CA, then when I was 10, my family moved north to Capitola, which at the time was a very small town outside of Santa Cruz. At age 12, I watched a girl practicing gymnastics. I instinctively knew I could master the sport, so I started taking gymnastics at school. By the time I graduated from Capitola Intermediate a year later, I had won the trophy for Best Girl Athlete.
This accolade was followed by two different high school coaches asking me to join their varsity teams—track and field and softball. It was a huge compliment for a 9th grader, but my love was gymnastics. I trained at the Santa Cruz Gymnastics Club for up to four hours a day, came home, ate dinner, went to bed, then back to school the next day until it was time to train again. As a quick and strong gymnast, I competed at a level that could have led to a college gymnastics scholarship, but the universe had other plans.
As an adjunct to my gymnastics training, I studied ballet and jazz to help refine my floor exercise routines. But in dance class, I could make mistakes and not be ridiculed. Eventually, my allegiance shifted and when I was 18, I sat my parents down and told them I wanted to study dance in New York City.
PS So you moved to New York?
DARIEN Yes, but I soon learned that dance in New York was on a completely different level. It was clear I needed to continue with ballet to work on my technique, so I studied it with Finis Jhung and Liane Plane. Then I discovered the Horton technique and the Alvin Ailey Dance Center, where I studied for a number of years.
To support myself throughout the 1980s, I rented studio space and taught dance and even choreographed for an all-male strip group.
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