Always knowing her love for teaching, Ms. Waller pursued several teaching certifications in the field of Ballet instruction. She has passed her Advanced Professional Teaching Examination in the Cecchetti Method with honors and is also an ABT® Certified Teacher, having successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Curriculum from Pre-Primary through Level 7. Alissa is currently on the faculty of the Charlotte Ballet Academy where she teaches Ballet & Pointe technique and Dance Conditioning.  Alissa has taught Ballet/Pointe technique, Dance Conditioning, and has choreographed for several university dance programs as well as for numerous summer intensives and regional dance workshops. The many students she has trained over the past 25 years have gone on professional careers in dance and in teaching with some of the best ballet companies in the world including American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pittsburg Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, and the Miami City Ballet.

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Pilates

Ms. Waller began her formal Pilates education in the Ron Fletcher Method in 1995 and completed her first comprehensive Pilates certification with STOTT PILATES® in 1998. Her second comprehensive Pilates certification was through McEntire Pilates where she served as a Pilates Teacher Trainer in the Chicago area for several years. Besides this formal education, Alissa has been fortunate enough to study the classical Pilates repertoire, and to attend many Pilates’ conferences, workshops and seminars to become exposed to a variety of teachers and styles. Ms. Waller has fine-tuned her teaching practice by completing Pilates for Dancers Specialization through BASI Pilates, a Certificate in Performing Arts Medicine, Dance Conditioning Training with the Inner Life of Ballet and Perfect Form Physiotherapy, and continued study with the Dance Medicine Education Initiative of NYC and at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Alissa has over 25 years of practical experience teaching Pilates in the professional studio setting.  She is a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher (NCPT) and has completed multiple advanced trainings in the applications of Pilates to specific populations. Her teaching practice encompasses general fitness, advanced applications, teacher mentoring, post rehab, pre/post-partum, dancer specific, equestrians, and elite athletes. She is a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science as well as the Performing Arts Medical Association and attends their conferences annually.

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GYROTONIC® Method

Alissa is a Licensed Specialized Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Master Trainer and conducts teacher training in all aspects and levels of the systems .Ms. Waller was introduced to the Gyrotonic method of exercise in 1997. From her very first session, she was amazed with how organic and natural the movement felt in her body.  Since her first introduction to the system in 1997, Alissa has studied extensively with its' creator, Juliu Horvath in New York, Denver, San Francisco, Miami, Austria, Italy, and Germany and with many other seasoned Master Trainers worldwide. In 2008, she was chosen by Mr. Horvath to demonstrate the Level 2 Gyrotonic material at the International Gyrotonic Educational Convention in Rome, Italy.  She is certified by Mr. Horvath as a Master Trainer in both the Gyrotonic method as well as the Gyrokinesis method which enables her to train future teachers.  She has furthered her Gyrotonic education with advanced training in Gyrotonic Level 2 (programs 1 and 2), Gyrokinesis Level 2 (programs 1 and 2), Therapeutic Applications of Gyrotonic for the Pelvis, Spine, Upper Body and Shoulders, Scoliosis Programs (with both Paul Horvath and Uwe Herbstreit), Dancer Specific Program Levels 1 and 2, the Psoas Program, Equestrian Program, and Gyrokinesis Breathing Programs. She is certified in all aspects of the system and is a Master Trainer on the Specialized pieces of equipment: ARCHWAY™, Jumping-Stretching Board, and GYROTONER®. 

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Studio Founder

In 2003, Ms. Waller founded Chicago Northshore GYROTONIC®, a licensed studio and educational facility, which served the greater Chicago area with comprehensive teacher training in the Gyrotonic & Gyrokinesis Methods and Pilates Teacher Certification.  She directed the studio until 2011 when she relocated to North Carolina. In 2014, she founded her current studio Charlotte Movement Arts Studio.  Ms. Waller has professionally consulted for movement facilities nationwide including designing the movement studio for the Health Spa at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Chicago (formerly the Elysian Hotel).  

A lifelong student, she re-educates herself yearly and stays up to date with the most current advances in movement science.  Ms. Waller has deepened her teaching practice with extensive study of dance technique, dance science, anatomy, physiology, bio-mechanics, physical therapy, kinesiology, Thai bodywork, energy healing, yoga, meditation, breathing practices, osteopathy, and the work of Philip Beach, Robert Schlep, Gil Hedley and Tom Myers. She currently resides in Charlotte where she loves to go hiking in the mountains, chill out at the beach, or just relax at home with a good book.