Saludos

My Story

New York Beginnings, Puerto Rican Roots (1934–1945)

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Lolita San Miguel was born in New York City on October 9, 1934, to Puerto Rican parents. When she was three years old, her family moved to Puerto Rico. There, at age seven, she began studying dance—an early devotion that would shape the discipline, artistry, and purpose of her life.

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A Young Dancer Returns to New York (1945–1952)

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At eleven, Lolita traveled to New York to attend summer courses at the School of American Ballet. Four days after arriving, her father died suddenly of a heart attack. Her mother made the difficult decision to remain in New York so Lolita could continue her training. Lolita studied ballet at the School of American Ballet and expanded her education through Spanish dance, modern, jazz, and piano. In 1952, she graduated from the High School of Performing Arts—one of the pioneering institutions that joined formal academics with intensive arts training.

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Life on Tour and the Professional Stage (1952–1954)

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After graduation, Lolita joined the Slavenska–Franklin Ballet Company and toured the United States for 48 weeks, traveling by bus and performing one-night engagements. She danced with the Robert Joffrey Ballet and the Ben Harkarvy Ballet Companies—both led by teachers she had known from Performing Arts.

Among the many venues where she performed, Jacob’s Pillow in Lenox, Massachusetts became a meaningful landmark. The Pillow’s director, Ted Shawn, was a friend of Joseph Pilates, who taught there often. Many years later, Lolita’s own company, Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, would return to perform at Jacob’s Pillow—an echo of history that would deepen her connection to the Pilates lineage.

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The Metropolitan Opera Ballet—A University of Art (1954–mid-1960s)

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In 1954, Lolita joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, where she became a soloist and spent more than ten years performing during the celebrated Rudolf Bing era. She often described the Met as her “University” and her home. During those years, she shared the stage with legendary artists—Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Joan Sutherland, Birgit Nilsson, and many others. The experience refined her artistry and professionalism, and it taught her what excellence demands: consistency, humility, and devotion to craft.

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An Injury, a Referral, and a Doorway to Pilates (1958)

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In 1958, Lolita suffered a knee injury and was taken to Dr. Henry Jordan at Lenox Hill Hospital, the Chief Orthopedic Surgeon known for treating dancers. He advised that surgery was not necessary but emphasized strengthening the quadriceps to protect the knee joint. His recommendation was clear: go to Carola Trier’s Pilates studio. Carola Trier had been trained by Joseph Pilates. A former dancer and acrobat, she ran a Manhattan studio frequented by dancers and athletes seeking strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation. Two of her assistants were Romana Kryzanowska and Kathleen Stanford Grant. For Lolita, this referral became the beginning of a lifelong romance with the Pilates Method.

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Apprenticeship with Carola Trier—Learning by Shadowing

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After years as a client, Carola Trier suggested that when Lolita stopped dancing, she should apprentice to teach the Pilates Method. Lolita completed a 520-hour apprenticeship (26 weeks at 20 hours per week) under the auspices of the New York State University Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. She became the only person Carola Trier ever certified. The training was rigorous and practical—learning through listening, observing, assisting, and remembering. Lolita followed clients “like a shadow,” always alert to what each person needed: the box, the straps, the pole, the small adjustments that make the work precise and safe.

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Meeting Joseph and Clara Pilates (1966–1967)

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One day, in conversation with Kathleen Stanford Grant, Lolita learned that Joseph Pilates was still alive and teaching only a few blocks away at 939 Eighth Avenue. Kathy and Lolita decided to visit him and request training and certification under the same vocational rehabilitation sponsorship.

Lolita met Joseph Pilates in his eighties: strong, white-haired, dressed in black shorts and a white turtleneck, speaking with a pronounced German accent. Beside him was Clara Pilates—gentle, petite, and steady wearing a white nurse’s uniform. For more than a year, Lolita attended regularly. She worked out, observed, and assisted clients, learning not only the exercises but the standards, the expectations, and the spirit of the Method.

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Two Lineages, One Foundation (520 Hours + 520 Hours)

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Lolita’s apprenticeship hours with Carola Trier and with Joseph Pilates—520 hours each—were arranged to fit real life. Kathy Grant assisted Joseph Pilates in the mornings before going to work at Carola’s studio. Lolita apprenticed in the afternoons, balancing training with caring for her baby. At both studios, she practiced mat work and trained on all apparatus under supervision—Carola Trier, Kathy Grant, and later Clara and Joseph Pilates, as well as Bob Seed and Hannah Sakamirda. The work was learned the way dance is learned: through repetition, attention, and embodied memory. On February 2, 1967, Lolita received her certification from Joseph Pilates. That same year, Joseph Pilates died two months short of his 84th birthday.

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Teaching in the World of Dance

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From the moment Pilates entered her life, Lolita integrated it into ballet training. She taught ballet and Pilates at the Metropolitan Opera House, Ballet Hispánico of New York, Clark Center for the Performing Arts, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and her alma mater, the High School of Performing Arts. Pilates was not an “extra”—it became part of the foundation.

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Puerto Rico—Building Institutions (1977–2005)

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In 1977, Lolita remarried and moved to Puerto Rico. There she founded Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, the Conservatory of Ballet Concierto, and a Pilates studio, Pilates y Más. Everyone in Ballet Concierto practiced Pilates as part of their training—from four-year-olds beginning creative movement to professional dancers. Over the years, Lolita taught the Pilates Method to more than a thousand teachers and clients, including dancers, children, chiropractors, and doctors.

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The Pilates Method Alliance and Continuing Education

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After the New York trial that established “Pilates” as a generic term, Lolita was invited to Miami for a gathering organized by Kevin Bowen and Colleen Glenn. There, the Pilates Method Alliance was born. Lolita, along with Kathy Grant, Ron Fletcher, and Mary Bowen, was named an “elder.” In Miami, she met Dr. Brent Anderson, President of Polestar Pilates, and invited him to Puerto Rico to train her teachers and herself. Lolita has long believed that the Method must remain alive and growing—and that advances in sport science and kinesiology can serve clients well when integrated responsibly. Her advice has remained constant: “Never Stop Learning.”

Dr. Anderson and Shelly Power came to Puerto Rico and personally taught the Polestar approach, especially valuable for rehabilitation and special conditions. Lolita and her faculty were comprehensively certified through Polestar Pilates Education—an experience she described as rekindling her love for the work.

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International Teaching and a Master Mentor Program (2005–present)

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In 2005, at age 70, Lolita retired as Artistic Director of Ballet Concierto and dedicated herself fully to teaching Pilates internationally. She presented with Pilates on Tour, the Pilates Method Alliance, and other global events.

In 2009, she began a new phase: the Lolita San Miguel Pilates Master Mentor Program, a rigorous two-year mentorship for certified teachers with at least three years of experience. Teachers from all six continents came to study, bond, and deepen their understanding. They named themselves “Lolita’s Disciples™,” committed to carrying her legacy forward.

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Returning Joseph Pilates to His Hometown (2009–2016)

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In May 2009, Lolita began her first European Master Mentor Program group with teachers from Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Holland, and Germany. During the program, the group traveled to Mönchengladbach, Germany, to celebrate Pilates Day with a free mat class attended by 150 people. Lolita was shocked to learn that Joseph Pilates was not widely known in his hometown. She worked with local officials to find a site for a statue or plaque. On May 7, 2011, a large group of teachers, devotees, and her Disciples placed a commemorative plaque honoring Joseph Pilates at the site of his birth. The unveiling was performed by the Mayor of Mönchengladbach, the Honorable Norbert Bude, and attended by officials and Joseph Pilates’ great grandnephew, Wolfgang Pilates. In 2012 and 2013, Lolita organized International Pilates Day conferences and memorial ceremonies at the plaque site. Since 2015, the Pilates Day International Heritage Congress in Mönchengladbach has continued as a biennial event honoring Joseph Pilates. In 2016, a memorial celebration was also held at Ferncliff Cemetery in New York, where the ashes of Clara and Joseph Pilates rest.

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Florida and the Continuation of Legacy

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In 2005, Lolita moved from Puerto Rico to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida with her husband. She established a fully equipped studio within the Florida School for Dance Education. There, the Master Mentor Program and Lolita’s Legacy were taught by Lolita, her Disciples, and teachers trained in Lolita’s Legacy.

Today, Lolita’s Legacy continues in different parts of the world through excellent Legacy teachers. Lolita remains available for private Pilates sessions for Pilates teachers, and her life’s work continues to stand for authenticity, discipline, history, and heart.