Julie Binkley (julie@bluesparrowpilates.com)
Studio Owner
Pilates Instructor

  • BA Women's Studies, BA Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • MFA Choreography and Performance, Mills College
  • Certified in STOTT PILATES®
  • Certified Pregnancy Fitness Specialist
  • Certified Postpartum Rehabilitation Specialist

Julie is a performer and choreographer with an MFA in the Dance Program at Mills College. Julie was first introduced to Pilates in 1995 as a way to increase her ability as a dancer. Julie found that Pilates enhanced her dance training through balanced strengthening of specific muscle groups, which gave her agility, balance, a greater range of motion, and the fluid integration of movement. As well as the benefit to her dance practice, Julie loves Pilates for its subtleties and its ability to sculpt the body, efficiently build strength, and create ease and functionality in everyday movement.

Julie takes interest in the individual needs of her clients and enjoys finding new ways to teach and practice Pilates. She finds that Pilates' emphasis on breath, synergistic fluid movement, efficient muscle use, and a balanced and safe approach to exercise makes working with clients a never-ending learning experience. Julie has studied various Pilates methods including Physical Mind, EHS Pilates Institute, and Stott®. In addition to completing the Stott Pilates® training, Julie is a certified instructor of Carolyne Anthony's Pregnancy Fitness and Postpartum Rehabilitation Programs, and has training in Rehabilitative Pilates with Lizz Roman through Ellie Herman Studios.

Holly Furgason (holly@bluesparrowpilates.com)
Studio Owner
Pilates & GYROTONIC® Instructor

  • BDA in Dance, University of Michigan
  • MFA in Choreography and Performance, Mills College
  • Certified Instructor of STOTT PILATES®
  • Certified Breast Cancer Exercise Specialist
  • Certified Pregnancy Fitness Specialist
  • Certified Postpartum Rehabilitation Specialist
  • Certified GYROTONIC® Level 1

Holly Furgason is an active performer, choreographer, writer, teacher, and innovator in the art of dance whose interests are wide and varied. Holly completed her Bachelor's of Dance Arts at the University of Michigan, where she explored dance history, theory, and choreography as well as Graham, Cunningham, and Limon techniques.

While pursuing the art of dance, she began to study mind-body fitness as a way to strengthen her dance technique. Holly's desire to gain understanding of movement of the body lead her to begin teacher training in Stott Pilates®. Upon earning certification, she taught at several Pilates studios in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has since trained with international experts, deepening her understanding in dance/performance conditioning and enhancement, athletic and sports training, injury prevention and rehabilitation, postpartum rehabilitation, pregnancy fitness, post-operative breast cancer rehabilitation, and interpersonal communication aspects of movement-related instruction. Holly discovered GYROTONIC® in 2003 and found it to be the ideal complement to dance and Pilates.

Holly continues her journey towards bodily knowledge by furthering her Pilates education, training in various other somatic modalities, and regularly participating in national somatic and dance medicine conferences. She has taught Pilates in the Mission and Noe Valley districts of San Francisco, and was an adjunct professor of dance at the College of San Mateo. Holly is a long-time collaborator with Logokinesis, a Pilates-based education and publishing company, and has published chapters in two of their recent books, Pilates Space: The Workbook for Inspired Entrepreneurs and Survival Skills for Pilates Teachers: Thriving in the mind-body fitness world. She also has contributed to InDance, a Bay Area Dance Journal.

Jonathan Borin
Pilates & Yoga Instructor

  • BA in Exercise Sports Science-Physiology, University of San Francisco
  • Certified in Astanga Yoga
  • Trained in Stott Pilates®

Holly Fernandez
Apprentice Pilates Instructor & GYROKINESIS® Instructor

  • BA in Dance and BA in Philosophy, University of Washington, Seattle
  • Certified GYROKINESIS® Level 1
  • Trained in Stott Pilates® Reformer & Matwork

Holly is a passionate dancer who has studied Pilates, Gyrotonic®, Gyrokinesis®, and Orthobionomy* as supplements to her dancing.

In 1999, Holly earned a BA in Dance and BA in Philosophy from the University of Washington in Seattle. Then in 2001, her passion for movement evolved into the study of Gyrokinesis®. Studying to become a Gyrokinesis® teacher helped her increase flexibility in the spine and gain a new sense of awareness of motion in the body.

While dancing she suffered a serious injury which led her to Pilates after rehabilitation. Pilates helped her regain strength and stability, improve alignment, establish effective movement patterns, and balance muscle groups to avoid future overuse injures. She has completed her Stott Pilates® Reformer and Matwork training. She plans to continue with her Stott Pilates® training and become fully certified.

Holly continues to dance, thanks to Gyrokinesis® and Pilates, and has recently danced for choreographers Robert Moses, Kat Galasso, and Todd Eckert.

*Orthobionomy is a healing art, like Reiki, founded by British trained osteopath Dr. Arthur Lincoln Pauls in the 1970s. It combined his understanding of energy from an eastern perspective with the fundamental principles of Ostepathy and his intuitive awareness of the self-healing capacity of the body to create this comprehensive system.

Melissa Kennedy
Pilates Instructor

  • BA in Dance and a BA in Psychology, University of Minnesota
  • Certified Instructor of STOTT PILATES®

Melissa began studying pilates in 2000 to complement her dance training. In 2005, she completed teacher training in reformer and cadillac with Susan Scalf in Minneapolis and in 2008 became certified through the STOTT PILATES® teacher training program. Melissa holds a BA in Dance and a BA in Psychology from the University of Minnesota. She has danced professionally in Minneapolis with Catalyst, Insitu Dance and Time Track Productions. Melissa found that pilates greatly enhances her quality of life by helping her prevent and recover from injury and making her a stronger, more efficient dancer. She loves the challenging workout for both body and mind that pilates provides and feels it helps to calm the mind, bring greater awareness to breath, and improves alignment and posture. With each workout, Melissa is committed to offering her clients the tools to achieve greater body awareness and more balanced and healthy movement patterns that will carry over to life outside the studio.

Alyssa Lee Wilmot
Pilates Instructor

  • MFA in Choreography and Performance, Mills College
  • BA in Philosophy, The College of Wooster
  • Certified Pilates Instructor

Alyssa Lee Wilmot is a Pilates, Yoga, and Fitness instructor, college level educator, choreographer, dancer, and performance artist. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she started her dance education at the age of three. Alyssa holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the College of Wooster, Ohio, and an M.F.A. in Dance Choreography and Performance from Mills College in Oakland. As an instructor Alyssa has taught thousands of students of all ages, from children to senior citizens. She is a faculty member in Dance and Physical Education at numerous colleges in the Bay Area, including The College of San Mateo and City College San Francisco, and since 2005 has been a visiting artist in the Dance Department of Mills College. In 2003 Alyssa established group A, a new media dance company committed to placing the art of dance in unconventional contexts. In 2006 Alyssa received her Pilates Mat Certification from Alter Center, and has studied Pilates extensively with Alexis Mian and Bethany Clemen for the past three years.

Alyssa was drawn to Pilates for the benefits that it provides in all areas of life - from improving one's posture to making daily movements more efficient. As a dancer, Alyssa became interested in Pilates for itís preventative benefits and also for the overall strength it offers. Alyssa aims to help her clients resolve imbalances in their bodies and bring a greater sense of awareness to their movements and ultimately to their lives. Alyssa believes that it is necessary to train the body as an integrated whole. She enjoys teaching Pilates to a wide range of clients from professionals to beginners. In each of her sessions she emphasizes the focus, discipline, and fun found in Pilates. Alyssa personally enjoys how Pilates makes her stronger inside and outside the studio and better able to cope with stress in general. She encourages anyone interested in Pilates to try it ñ she is convinced you will be hooked!

Alison Faison
Yoga Instructor

Alison has been practicing yoga for over ten years. She has taught yoga to adults, teenagers, and children in San Francisco for over five years. She was certified in prenatal yoga in 2006, and taught prenatal classes during her own pregnancy. After having a baby, she participated in postnatal yoga and taught private sessions. She is certified in Hatha yoga, with experience in Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Yin yoga styles. Breathing, sound, music, and movement are incorporated into her yoga practice and teaching. She is interested in combining flowing and energizing postures with restorative postures, and integrating knowledge of physiology and alignment in order to create a nurturing, safe environment for all levels of practitioners.

Anne McDonough
Yoga Instructor

Anne's love affair with yoga began in the late 90's, when she started going to classes to help recover from a car accident. She is honored to now help others discover their own healing, vitality, and playful selves through yoga practice. After studying a variety of traditions, she completed teacher training programs with Prague Yoga (Czech Republic) and Purna Yoga with Aadil Palkhivala. Anne is grateful to be blessed with wonderful teachers. Classes are flowing, emphasizing breath to fuel movement and awareness of the present moment.

Nadia Oka
Yoga Instructor

Nadia Oka, CMA, RYT, MFA, is a choreographer and dancer who has performed and taught movement in New York and the Bay Area. She is a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies and a yoga teacher from Alison West's Yoga Union. In 2007 she earned an MFA at Mills College in Choreography and Performance. She has studied yoga with Alison West and kinesthetic anatomy with Irene Dowd and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen.