Val Jones was born and bred on the Wirral and she received dance training in Liverpool, which was the start of her dancing career in which she had a full time profession in performing, teaching and choreographing dance in the UK and abroad. Val has an MA (Master of Arts) in Dance and she still continues to teach, examine and lecture for one of the main examining boards on a freelance basis!

It’s interesting to know what motivates somebody to teach Pilates and how somebody can start a career in being an instructor, so Val told us that Pilates was always part of her training as a dancer and has helped to keep her free from injury. Ironically, it was when Val’s professional dancing days were over that she suffered from a ruptured Achilles tendon and it was during Val’s rehabilitation process that her own Pilates instructor encouraged her to gain qualifications with Body Control Pilates. The BCP course appealed to Val due to its rigour and the course consisted of intensive study for weeks at a time in London, an apprenticeship under a supervising teacher alongside practical and written exams.

“Body Control Pilates explores the whole method rather than just teaching exercises from the repertoire” Val says. Anyone who wants to improve their strength, posture and flexibility should attend Val’s Body Control Pilates, which are mat-work based classes. Val wants her clients to understand their own bodies and how to get the best out of them and therefore Val ensures that she spends lot of time on techniques so that each client can create a Pilates practise that is personal to them and allows them to move about their daily life. Movement skills are taught step by step which will give the strength and flexibility to perform more advanced movements.

And finally, and in true Willaston Physio style… a fun fact about Val is that she had two questions aired on BBC4’S Gardeners Question Time, but she made her husband ask them as, despite her profession, she “hates that sort of attention!”