About Michèle

Michèle Oppliger

Michèle Oppliger was a professional modern dancer in New York City for over two decades. After her dancing career ended, she took her love and experience of movement and became a certified Pilates and MELT teacher. She studied with Karen Carlson in Philadelphia and got her Pilates certification in 2002. That same year, she also got her MELT certification from MELT creator Sue Hitzman. She was among the first teachers getting certified in the MELT Method. 

For 20 years, she maintained a private practice in New York City and 10 years ago she started teaching Upstate NY where she now lives. Since the pandemic, she has been teaching via Zoom, which offers her students the opportunity to take class wherever they are. They don’t have to miss a class because they are away. It has also opened the possibility for students from far away to join Michèle’s classes: East Coast, West Coast, Canada, Europe, Israel. 

She has now opened her own Pilates and Fitness Studio in Uptown Kingston, NY. You can again have a one-on-one experience by taking classes with Michèle.

She is constantly evolving her practice with new information and has added other modalities to her teaching. In the last 6 years she has taken numerous workshops with Dr. Craig Liebenson from L.A. incorporating functional movement in her teaching with great results. She has been studying with Beth Lewis and is also certified as a level 1 Animal Flow instructor. She is working on her level 2 certification now.

Her students are getting stronger, more resilient and are functioning better in their daily lives with the combination of Pilates, MELT and strength training.