IM=X® Certified Instructor
Katya Guimaraes is a certified Pilates Instructor, a Personal trainer, former Cirque du Soleil Performer, circus coach and aerialist with a bachelor’s degree from UCF in Sports and Exercise Science/Kinesiology. She was born in the Amazon region in Belem, Brazil. After moving to Rio de Janeiro at the age of 4, she was exposed to a variety of arts developing passion for dance, circus, music and theater. In 1988, she graduated as professional acrobat at the National Circus School in Brazil, acquiring a variety of skills such as aerial Silk, aerial hoop, stationary trapeze, Spanish web, roller skating acrobatic, Teeter board, Russian swing, unicycle and stilts. After graduating, she performed in many theaters and circus in Brazil such as Villa Lobos Gloria and Joao Caetano in Rio, Circo D’Italia, Hatary, and Circo Scala until 1993. After that, she went to Germany to work in amusement Parks such as Phantasialand and Europa Park until 1997.
In 1998, she joined Cirque du Soleil to create a residentshow “La Nouba” in Orlando, Florida as a performer of the Aerial Ballet in Silk, in which she performed for 18 years. In Montreal, Canada during the creation of “La Nouba” at the Cirque du Soleil’ studios, Katya was introduced to the Pilates Method of Body Conditioning; and since then, it has been the way she realigns her body, prevent injuries, and improve the quality of her performances. In 2005, she got certified as a Pilates Instructor. From 2005-2007, she performed at Disney World at Epcot Center for The Party for The Senses as an aerialist presented by Cirque du Soleil. In 2009, she took part of Kohls' Christmas commercial. In 2010, her passion for fitness led her to get certified as a Personal Trainer by the National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) and the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). In 2022, she got certified by NASMas a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) and Stretching and Flexibility Coach (SFC). She currently works as a Personal trainer, advanced Pilates instructor and TRX at IMX Pilates Lake Nona and Lavender, the Spa. In addition, she is very thankful for her career as a circus artist which gave her a chance of learning five languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and German. She truly believes in the healing power of circus, the arts, Pilates and fitness. She feels rejuvenated sharing what she had learned over 35 years as an artist and a fitness professional. She says “Learning is an endless road. When I share my passion for circus arts and Pilates, I always discover something new, especially because every human being is so unique.”