After life as a Disney dancer Liverpool’s Nina is making her own pilates dreams come true

As a Disneyland dancer Nina Falconer was used to making other people’s dreams come true.

Before starting pilates company, The Cabin, She spent eight years in Paris and travelled across the world to glamorous places like Dubai creating the magic for which the company is renowned.

“I had an amazing time,” says Nina. “I was a parade performer, and I was a dancer in the Mickey and the Magician stage show.

“It was hard work and long hours, but it was a really cool experience, and I absolutely loved it.”

With six shows a day, five days a week, it was important that Nina looked after herself.

“I had a really successful career, and it was essential I looked after my body to be able to do what I did.

“Pilates became my routine, and my way of looking after myself and my body to be able to do what I did, both physically and mentally.”

That’s why now she is back home again Nina, 28, from Mossley Hill, is sharing her happy place, and offering bespoke pilates sessions from her own private studio, The Cabin.

“I know better than anyone the benefits you can get from pilates.

“And I want to help people with one to one, or one to two sessions, whether they are looking to get fitter or stronger, or just want to get some ‘me’ time.”

Nina, who trained as a dancer at Tring Park Performing Arts School in London from the age of 16, was already a fan of pilates before she trained as a teacher four years ago during Covid.

“We were closed at Disneyland and beginning to wonder whether we would ever open again, and so although I already had knowledge and a foundation, I decided to get my teacher certificates while I was in Paris.

“I then went to Australia where they are so much more advanced in pilates and where I learned so much more, and now I want to bring everything together to teach here. I’d love to build a client base where I can help people – I love seeing people’s journeys through exercise, and by allowing people to give themselves the chance to stop and pause, make someone’s day better.”

Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates from Germany and is a type of exercise that focuses on improving strength, flexibility, balance, posture, and body awareness.

Nina Falconer - Pilates at The Cabin — Nina Falconer – Pilates at The Cabin

It involves a series of simple, repetitive exercises that use precise movements, controlled breathing, and muscle engagement and can be done simply on a mat or with specialised equipment, such as reformer machines – which Nina has – which can enhance the exercise by engaging multiple muscle groups or adding resistance to help correct postural imbalances and promote even better alignment.

Nina, who also works for the city’s Body Clinic, says: “As a former dancer, we relied on pilates as the foundation of the body. It teaches you how to hold your posture, it’s for core strength and it can correct any form issues you have. Posture is the most important thing because it allows you to live a long and healthy life.

“You don’t have to look a certain way or be a certain type to do pilates, you can be a beginner and unfit or someone who’s practiced for a period of time and is more fit. You can be under 18, or you can be 60 and over … anyone can do it.

“You just need a body.

“There are fundamentals to pilates that you work with each exercise: breath, the flow, the alignment, the core, and the pelvic floor.”

She adds: “The best thing about private classes is that they can be tailored to whatever you need them to be, whether that’s post or pre-natal exercise, whether it’s overcoming and recovering from an injury, or whether it’s gaining strength, posture and fitness, or improving your confidence – even if that means so you can go into a bigger class along the line.

“It’s not about being the fastest, or lifting the heaviest weight, and it works your body from the inside out so you can see and feel the benefits.”

Nina’s top tips:

1. Don’t worry about getting started. You don’t need to be fit, you just need a body!

2. If you want to improve posture (‘definitely one that applies to people working from home more’) this is for you.

3. Use pilates to get a bit of ‘me’ time, a chance to indulge yourself and look after you – because that’s important. It supports mental and physical health.

4. If you want to take up pilates, find studio near you or go to a local gym where you feel comfortable and which suits you. Not every class or instructor will, so go to different classes and try at least five sessions before you make your mind up.