Meet Dara

Founder, instructor, mentor, and lifelong student of movement. At Pilates Plus, Dara has built a studio centered around thoughtful teaching, individualized care, and helping people move better in everyday life.

Dara Galasso smiling while sitting near a window in the studio.

More than the workout

For Dara, Pilates moves beyond exercise — it’s about helping people feel more at home in their bodies, and building a studio where clients feel genuinely seen and supported. That sense of connection continues to shape Pilates Plus today, from the way instructors teach to the atmosphere clients feel the moment they walk through the door.

Dara Galasso sitting cross-legged on a reformer, smiling in the studio.
Instructor assisting a client with a stretch on a reformer.

How Pilates Plus began

Dara founded Pilates Plus with the belief that Pilates should feel personal, thoughtful, and grounded in real understanding of the body: unhurried, welcoming, and tailored to each client. What began as a passion for movement and teaching evolved into a studio built around strong client relationships and a deeper approach to Pilates education.

Over the years, Dara has worked with clients of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels, from age 3 to 93. Her clients include complete beginners, and those navigating injuries, chronic pain, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and post-joint-replacement rehabilitation. She’s also guided many clients through tough stages of life, where movement became part of finding steady ground again. Her sessions combine careful observation, individualized cueing, and strong anatomical understanding, helping clients truly understand how their bodies move as they build strength and confidence. Clients often describe her teaching as thoughtful, encouraging, detail-oriented, and genuinely fun.

Client being assisted by an instructor on a Pilates chair, in the studio with large windows
Client being assisted by an instructor on a Pilates chair, in the studio with large windows

“We teach the work — not just the workout.”

That philosophy is at the center of everything Dara has built at Pilates Plus. She believes Pilates should support people through every stage of life, build strength without unnecessary strain, and improve the way clients move outside the studio. Dara doesn’t chase trends or intensity for its own sake, her approach prioritizes quality movement, intentional progression, and results that last well beyond a single session.

A client in a blue t-shirt smiling while stretching with another person during a Pilates session in the studio

Training the next generation of instructors

Beyond working with clients, Dara leads the Pilates Plus teacher training programs — focused on anatomy, movement mechanics, and individualized instruction. There’s no memorized choreography being taught here. Dara works to help trainees develop the critical thinking and hands-on skill needed to become confident, adaptable teachers, capable of supporting real people in real-life situations.

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