Meet Danica Kalemdaroglu | Pilates Practitioner and Movement Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danica Kalemdaroglu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danica, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I was teaching as a contractor for multiple studios after having my first child and I was miserable. I was hustling back and forth across town while trying how figure out the hardest job all, parenting. I needed to make a change that was sustainable for my new life as a mom, while fueling my love of teaching Pilates. It also didn’t help that I was significantly undervalued. Once my studio owner began asking me for training advice, I new it was time to break out on my own.

What should our readers know about your business?
Pilates 804 started in my attic as a home studio. I would also travel to clients home and give community classes where I could. I was able to balance my work-mom life while creating a solid client base. I was able to grow into a storefront studio by staying true to Pilates as a movement methodology. Not everyone knows that Joseph Pilates was an actual man who had a specific idea about how to best maintain the human body for peak performance.

The word Pilates has now become a fitness craze and studios are a dime a dozen. I have always kept Pilates 804 true to the technique of traditional Pilates. Having studied numerous somatic techniques in college and graduate school, I am also able to infuse alternative movement styles to best deliver an experience tailored to the client’s individual goals and needs.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There is always something going on in Richmond. It is centrally located in Virginia and within 90 miles you can get to DC, the beach or the mountains.

Virginia is known for its parks and Richmond doesn’t disappoint. If you love being outdoors but also close to a laid back city scape then you’re in the right place.

History buffs will love the fact that Richmond has a lot of it. You’re also only 45 minutes from Williamsburg and Jamestown.

There are to many restaurants to name so foodies get ready. Richmond has a diverse palette and brilliant culinary enthusiast that are pushing taste buds to the next level.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wouldn’t have my business if not for my husband who has supported me every step of the way. I asked him to take a lean out on his car to afford my first pieces of Pilates apparatus and he didn’t hesitate. I also want to thank the amazing teachers I have had the honor of studying under at Goucher College, the University of Colorado at Boulder and The Pilates Center of Boulder.

Website: Pilates804.com

Instagram: @pilates804

Facebook: @pilates804

Youtube: @pilates804

Image Credits
Headshot photo: Leo Peterson