Meet
Our Team.
Through the Pilates Method of Body Conditioning this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind and spirit can ever be attained. Self-confidence follows.
-Joseph Pilates
Sam Cotrone
Co-owner
Certified in 2002, Sam Cotrone has worked exclusively with top Hollywood clients, from in front of the camera, to behind. He has also worked with many heads of studios. Sam’s clients come to see him exclusively from as far away as Europe, Asia, Toronto, and New York. Sam is one of the most sought-after instructors in Los Angeles, and frequently works with many of the Dancing with the Stars celebrities and dancers.
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Sam is dedicated to fitness, and the ideal of living a happy, healthy, and strong body lifestyle. Sam has been seen on Entertainment Tonight with Daisy Fuentes, and on Access Hollywood with Kelly Osbourne. He has also been featured on TV Guide’s “Hollywood Bodies” and “Hollywood Hard Bodies.” Sam has been featured in Pilates videos sold around the world, and has been featured in People magazine, as well as Pilates Style magazine.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Sam grew up in a traditional Italian home. Sam trained and danced with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company for many years. Sam had the amazing opportunity to tour and perform around the world from Russia to Greece, all around Canada and the USA.
Since moving to Los Angeles, Sam has found love and a family. Along with his loving wife Susannah, and his three beautiful children, Sam keeps his lifestyle active and fun. From basketball to hockey, ballroom, or chess, every day is a part of the dolce vita, Ciao!
Susannah Cotrone
Co-owner
Susannah Cotrone grew up in Pasadena, CA and began studying classical ballet at the young age of three. She was first introduced to the Pilates method of exercise in Houston, TX as a summer student at the Houston Ballet School at age fourteen. Pilates revealed itself to be the missing link needed to take her ballet career to the next level and went on to dance professionally with The Richmond Ballet, Ballet Omaha, Francisco Martinez Dance Theater and The City Ballet of Los Angeles.
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Susannah began her Pilates career teaching at Winsor Pilates in 1998, and earned a Romana’s Pilates certification under Romana Kryzanowska in 2002, and trained personally with Jay Grimes for 8 years. Susannah helped choreograph and performed in the Winsor Pilates worldwide successful video workout series. After performing in countless DVDs with Mari Winsor, she branched out on a new venture with an up and coming company, Pilatesstick. Susannah created, starred and produced two DVDs for Pilatesstick, and was featured in Pilatesstyle magazine and on “TV Guide’s” Hollywood Bodies and Hollywood’s Hard Bodies for her work with “The Stick.” Susannah also worked with Gaiam creating Mari Winsor’s Slimming Pilates, writing fitness blogs and performing in Pilates videos. Susannah's fitness articles have been featured in The HuffingtonPost.com and she has been featured in various online fitness articles. Susannah also holds a Bachelor of Arts in the Performing Arts from St. Mary’s College of California.
Susannah and Sam Cotrone opened Cotrone Pilates in 2013, a fully equip Gratz Studio located in West Hollywood and launched their Cotrone Pilates Certification Program in 2018. Susannah can be seen performing Pilates nearly anywhere in the world via Instagram, FB or past Pilates videos, and teaching Pilates is her life’s work. She relishes each lesson she has with her students, as a rewarding and worthy challenge.
Molly Brog
Molly originally hails from the SF Bay Area, where she trained and competed as an Irish Dancer for over 15 years. She received her classical comprehensive Pilates certification from Equinox in New York City, while completing her BFA at NYU Tisch, where she studied Drama. When she’s not working on sides for auditions or at the Pilates studio, you can probably find her on the nearest pickleball court. Her favorite Pilates exercise is a toss up between Short Spine Massage and Push Through!
Janaina Canela
Janaina has always been a big believer in the benefits of Pilates in order to stay in tip top shape for her modeling shoots and did so for so long that she decided to expand her knowledge in Pilates, by going through a comprehensive mat + reformer course by equinox and becoming a certified instructor. Janaína instantly fell in love with teaching Pilates and truly enjoys the journey of seeing each client advance in their own ways, both physically and mentally.
Andy Allen
Andy is originally from Alabama and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Kennesaw State University. After graduation, Andy moved to New York City in 2010 where he lived and danced for five years. There, he discovered his interest in acting and moved to Los Angeles in 2015. Andy received his classical comprehensive Pilates certification from Equinox in Los Angeles under the guidance of Carrie Macy Samper. He has been teaching Pilates for ten years and taught dance for fifteen years prior. He is a fantastic classical teacher with the skills to work with any experience level.
Danielle Henderson
As a former member of the United States World Team in Fencing, Pan Am Zonal Champion, three time National Champion, NCAA All American, Division I NCAA varsity letter winner in two sports (rowing and fencing), and former NCAA Division I coach, Danielle brings a wealth of athletic and fitness knowledge to her teaching.
Danielle was ranked 3rd in the United States but had to sit out of the 2012 Olympic qualifying season because of a spinal cord injury. After years of pain, Danielle used Pilates and Yoga to get out of pain and build back her mobility.
Danielle is a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200) and third generation Classical Pilates instructor. In 2019, Danielle completed her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in Cathy Madeo's last in-person training. She then studied classical Pilates for two years one-on-one with Alycea Ungaro at Real Pilates in New York City before pursuing her 600 hour Classical Pilates Teacher Training with Susannah and Sam Cotrone in West Hollywood.
Danielle received her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Rutgers University, her M.Phil in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Cambridge University, and her Juris Doctor from Penn Law. After eight years as an M&A attorney at AM Law top 30 law firms, Danielle left law to create time for health, family, and the arts.