Julia has been moving and grooving for as long as she can remember. Her living room dance performances fostered a passion for the arts that led to over 20 years of classical ballet training. Julia performed as a professional guest artist across Central New York for five years prior to retiring. She holds over twelve years of experience in dance education, having taught at numerous CNY-based studios as a principal ballet, pointe, and conditioning instructor, student company director, and choreographer. Julia served on the Dance and Movement Studies faculty at Hamilton College from 2021-2023, with focused expertise in ballet. She is a certified teacher under the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum through Level 3. A seasoned choreographer, her work has been featured at Hamilton College, YAGP, Mohawk Valley Performing Arts, Dance with Utica, and Salt City Dance Festival, to name a few.

 

Transitioning away from dancing full-time, Julia’s passion for movement was taken in a new direction in 2018 when she first found her home in the fitness industry. Now a certified personal trainer (NASM-CPT) and ACE-certified group fitness instructor, she is also certified in a variety of specialized formats including Barre, LaBlast Fitness, PiYo, TRX, HIGH Fitness, ISSA Kickboxing, SOULfusion, and Progressing Ballet Technique. Her approach to functional fitness features strength-building movement with targeted integration of stability, balance, agility, endurance, flexibility, and resistance training. Julia’s teaching philosophy places emphasis on the core as the center hub for all movement, combining the above disciplines to create diverse, full-body workouts.

 

This, in conjunction with her classical ballet training and performance experience, led her to Classical Pilates – a seemingly perfect fusion of “all things Julia” that changed her life forever. Having completed her studies in 2024, Julia is a graduate of the 600-hour comprehensive Real Pilates Teacher Training program, based out of Real Pilates, NYC. She also specializes in conditioning for dancers and trains numerous professional and pre-professional artists in the CNY area. Her dancer-specific programming, Ballerinas with Biceps, aims to increase dancers’ awareness of muscular imbalances identified in their day-to-day dancing and, in turn, optimize their performance.

 

A new passion project since the birth of her nephew, Julia is currently studying pre- and post-natal coaching and holds a specialized certification in pre- and post-natal Pilates. Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, SIBO, and IBS in 2021, Julia’s battle with gut issues fueled a complete restructuring or her approach to food, movement, and more. As a certified nutrition coach (NASM-CNC), she integrates gut-friendly practices into her own life as well as the lives of her clients. In addition to her movement-based skills, Julia has her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Utica University and is a certified pointe shoe fitter through The Pointe Shop, of California.

 

Making Moves Fitness & Dance opened its doors in October 2024, blending boutique fitness, Pilates, and dance into one unique space that fosters a holistic and multi-dimensional approach to wellness. Julia offers private and semi-private coaching in personal training, classical Pilates, and classical ballet technique as well as classes in these disciplines.