Meet Dominika Borovansky Gaines of Kinesphere Center for Movement Education

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominika Borovansky Gaines.

Dominika, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a dancer by training and education, starting ballet at a young age and then being drawn to modern dance in my teens. I received a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from ASU in 1985, moved to New York and worked professionally with several independent choreographers. In 1991 I moved to Prague and spent the next 18 months teaching dance, choreographing, and working on the administrative staff at Tanec Praha, an international dance festival. In 1992, I returned to Phoenix to pursue my MFA in Dance at ASU.

A few years later I was teaching dance around the valley. One of the women who came to my ballet class was a former teacher of mine who was working with a trainer in Pilates and GYROTONIC(R) exercise. She invited me to come to one of her sessions to experience this interesting work; I was immediately drawn to the GYROTONIC movement and to the feeling of elongation and freedom I felt in my body. I began working with this trainer weekly and quickly felt a tremendous improvement in my dancing, my alignment, and my cardiovascular capacity.

I decided to pursue my own teacher training and received my Pilates teaching certificate from Marie-Jose Blom at Long Beach Dance Conditioning in 1998, and my GYROTONIC(R) Level I Certificate in 1999. During this time I also began training clients in my home.

In 2001 I opened Kinesphere, LLC in a commercial space to accommodate my growing client base and an apprentice instructor, Lisa Perry. At that time we were one of the first Pilates and Gyrotonic studios in Arizona, and over the years we’ve been in four locations, our latest at 44th Street and Indian School Road. In each location, we’ve created a space that promotes a sense of quiet and focus, an oasis.

From the very beginning, our mission has been to offer the highest quality training to our clients, empowering them with knowledge about their own bodies. Moving beyond solely Pilates and Gyrotonic, we are very engaged in the study of neuroscience and pain science and applying that information to movement. We collaborate with our clients to improve their balance, vision, and breathing, and to become more competent movers in their daily lives.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The recession of 2006 was a scary time. We didn’t know how many of our clients we would lose (not many!).

In 2010 we embarked on some new training in Restorative Exercise (now Nutritious Movement). This was a biomechanical approach that seemed to fill in the gaps in our existing knowledge. We felt it had tremendous potential for the general population, so in 2011 we expanded our space to 3000sqft. to include a beautiful yoga studio. We were hoping to increase our group classes and bring in a clientele who could not afford our private training services.

Unfortunately, group classes never filled the way I’d hoped and over the next five years the studio took on considerable debt from the overhead of the expansion. This meant that all the personal training hours I was teaching went straight back into the studio (and I wasn’t paying myself–which in the short-term is not so bad but over a long stretch was very depleting).

The other challenge for me has been the managerial aspect of owning a business, in particular having staff who don’t necessarily teach in a way that fits with the studio’s philosophy.

Kinesphere Center for Movement Education – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am very proud of Kinesphere’s success. We’ve been in business as a boutique movement studio since 2001. I’ve been able to create a very special place alongside remarkable, intelligent and devoted people.

Kinesphere is known for the teaching integrity and depth of knowledge of the staff, for the love and effort we invest into our work, for the serenity of our studio environment and for the results our clients experience.

We specialize in Z-Health(R) neuroscience-based movement education and GYROTONIC(R) exercise, as well as other somatic practices. We work with people of all ages and abilities.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I have always been a “striver,” a “reacher,” someone who’s always moving forward. I rarely stop to assess where I am and whether it is enough or a success. I am an immigrant and deeply embody the work ethic of hard work, perseverance, the desire to achieve.

Fortunately, I’ve been re-calibrating my understanding of success as I’ve grown older and wiser which has led to my definition of success as setting out with an intention and achieving that goal.

I am successful because I have created a profession and business centered around sharing what I love (movement), continuing to learn about the body and mind and helping others through the sharing of my passion.

Pricing:

• $115 single 60-minute session
• $475 5/60 minute-session package (60-day expiration)
• $850 10/60-minute-session package (60-day expiration)

Contact Info:

• Address: 4144 N 44th Street Suite 4 Phoenix AZ 85018
• Email: www.kinesphere-studio.com
•  Facebook: Kinesphere Center for Movement Education
• Phone: 602-532-3111
• Instagram: kinespherecenter

Image Credit:
Posh Creative Photography/Nancy Lynn Miller

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