“I started Pilates in 1997 while working as a dance instructor. I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune disease, and Pilates was the only modality that made me feel better. Shortly after, I moved to Manhattan to apprentice with my teacher, the late Romana Kryzanowska, a protégé of Joseph Pilates.”
— Sharmila Mitra
Principal Instructor & Performance Coach | Core Arts Pilates, Anaheim Hills
Where It Begins
Sharmila Mitra came to Pilates the way many great teachers do — through necessity. In 1997, while working as a dance instructor in Los Angeles, she was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune condition. Pilates, she discovered, was the one modality that made her feel genuinely better — not just in her body, but in herself. That experience never left her. It is the quiet undercurrent of everything she teaches.
Two years later, she moved to Manhattan to apprentice with the late Romana Kryzanowska — the woman Joseph Pilates trusted to carry forward his life’s work. Earning her certification under Romana’s direct tutelage placed Sharmila within an unbroken lineage that very few instructors anywhere in the world can claim. While in New York, she worked alongside and learned from Romana’s most respected students: Bob Liekens, Michael Fritzke, Ton Voogt, Niedra Gabriel, Adylia Roman, and Mejo Wiggin. She later earned a second certification through Power Pilates.
A Career Built on Two Disciplines
Sharmila brings more than 30 years of dance experience to her work — as a performer, choreographer, and adjudicator. Dance was never separate from her Pilates practice; it was the lens through which she understood it. The question that has driven her entire career is the same one Joseph Pilates asked: how does the body move at its best, and what does it take to get there?
To deepen her understanding of the dancer’s body specifically, she traveled to New York’s Westside Dance Physical Therapy — the clinic whose physical therapists oversee the health of the New York City Ballet and other leading professional dance companies. There, she earned a Certificate in Dance Medicine, studying alongside clinicians at the highest level of the field. It is a credential held by almost no one outside the clinical world. In 2016, she completed her GYROTONIC® certification under master trainer Suzie Lewis, followed in 2017 by the Applications for Dancers concentration — deepening her capacity to help dancers increase strength, stability, and range of motion through the full GYROTONIC® system.
Core Arts Pilates
In 2005, Sharmila founded Core Arts Pilates in Anaheim Hills, Orange County — bringing together classical Pilates, GYROTONIC®, and her own proprietary methodology, BodyStrategies™ for Dancers, under one roof. The studio has grown into one of the most respected movement studios in Southern California, with a faculty of classically trained instructors, a 600-hour teacher certification program, and a clientele that includes professional dancers, competitive athletes, working actors, pageant competitors, and everyday people seeking to move better and feel more fully themselves.
Before Orange County, Sharmila taught in West Hollywood, where her clients included Academy Award® nominee Toni Collette, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Louise Parker, Patricia Richardson, former Victoria’s Secret model Yasmeen Ghauri, and former Miss America Maryann Mobley. Crystal Lee, Miss California 2013, has spoken publicly about training with Sharmila at Core Arts Pilates as part of her Miss America preparation — crediting her with sharpening both her physical conditioning and her mental game.
BodyStrategies™ for Dancers
BodyStrategies™ for Dancers is Sharmila’s proprietary dance conditioning methodology — a year-round program that integrates classical Pilates principles with the latest advances in dance medicine and hands-on conditioning techniques. It is designed to optimize a dancer’s athleticism: developing functional strength, improving balance and power, supporting resilience against common injury patterns, and deepening the dancer’s embodied understanding of how they move. It is taught exclusively at Core Arts Pilates and is unlike any program available elsewhere in Orange County.
Coaching with Grace
Sharmila’s work has always extended beyond the physical. In 2019, she was invited by Mindbody to host a special master Pilates class for editors and influencers from Health Magazine, Fast Company, PopSugar, Dwell, and the Huffington Post. That same year, she taught at Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s summer intensive at the USC Kaufman School of Dance — the company founded by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden. In Fall 2021, she served as guest adjunct faculty at California State University, Long Beach, teaching Pilates to dance majors.
These experiences — combined with her master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, with an emphasis in consciousness, health, and healing — led to the development of Coaching with Grace: a premium performance coaching practice for dancers and anyone who performs under pressure. Built on the Coaching with Grace Method (Intention → Focus → Trust → Resilience → Integration) and anchored by her book, The Power of Intention for Dancers, this practice supports clients in developing the inner architecture that great performance requires. Confidence. Focus under pressure. A stable sense of identity beyond outcomes.
The Book
Sharmila is the author of The Power of Intention for Dancers: A Journal for Achieving Your Dreams — a practical guide and reflective journal for dancers navigating the convergence of artistry, athleticism, and personal growth. It is available on Amazon and serves as the philosophical foundation of the Coaching with Grace practice.
Credentials at a Glance
- Classical Pilates Certification — New York Pilates Guild (under Romana Kryzanowska, 1999)
- Classical Pilates Certification — Power Pilates
- Certificate in Dance Medicine — Westside Dance Physical Therapy, New York
- GYROTONIC® Certification — certified under master trainer Suzie Lewis
- GYROTONIC® Applications for Dancers — concentration certification (2017)
- Master of Arts, Spiritual Psychology — University of Santa Monica (emphasis: consciousness, health, and healing)
- Bachelor of Arts, Dance — California State University, Fullerton
- Bachelor of Arts, Communication — California State University, Fullerton
- Creator, BodyStrategies™ for Dancers
- Founder, Coaching with Grace
- Author, The Power of Intention for Dancers: A Journal for Achieving Your Dreams
- Pilates Teacher Trainer — 25+ years
- Studio Owner — Core Arts Pilates, founded 2005
Selected Highlights
- Faculty, Complexions Contemporary Ballet Summer Intensive at USC Kaufman School of Dance (2019)
- Guest Adjunct Faculty, California State University, Long Beach — Dance Department (Fall 2021)
- Master Class Instructor, Mindbody media event (2019) — featured in Health Magazine, Fast Company, PopSugar, Dwell, Huffington Post
- Master Class Instructor, Cal State Fullerton Dance Department (2023)
- Clientele includes: Academy Award® nominee Toni Collette, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Louise Parker, Patricia Richardson, Yasmeen Ghauri, former Miss America Maryann Mobley, Miss California 2013 Crystal Lee, So You Think You Can Dance artists, and professional choreographers and directors