Our Instructors

Jennifer Gianni

Jennifer has over 20 years of experience in the mind/body field. She began her formal Pilates training in Los Angeles at Performing Arts Physical Therapy under the direction of Melinda Bryan (certified and ordained by 1st generation Pilates Master Romana Kryzanowska). Jennifer's training during these years included workshops, testing and continuing education seminars with Romana Kryzanowska as well as other Classical Pilates greats like Siri Darma, Jillian Hessel and Jay Grimes. Jennifer taught with Jay Grimes at PAPT for 2 years and took over his clientele when he left which was a very high honor for such a young teacher.

Jennifer was very grateful for excellent training and the roots in Classical Pilates but knew there was more to discover. She completed two more Comprehensive Professional Pilates Certifications. The first was with PhysicalMind Institute where she had the honor of studying with renowned movement therapist Marika Molnar.

Next Jennifer went study with Marie Jose Blom at Long Beach Dance Conditioning. This experience would prove to be a life changing experience and Marie Jose continues to mentor and inspire Jennifer's work to this day.

Jennifer has been holding teacher-training courses in her own Fusion Pilates Pre & Post Natal Specialist program across the US and in Japan since 2003. She is the owner and director of Fusion Pilates DVD's, which specialize in DVD programs for women's fitness. Jennifer released two new DVD's created for the Pilates Professional in 2009. These programs include Pre & Post Natal modifications for the Reformer, the Wunda Chair and the Cadillac.

Jennifer began conducting a Comprehensive Professional Pilates Program in 2007 with courses offered in Asheville, Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.

For a complete biography, click here.

Kelly Robinson

Kelly Robinson was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina and has been involved with the Pilates method for the past six years. She instantly fell in love with the concepts of the method, so much in fact that she re-directed her career path so she could share the method with others. She has completed an intense and highly respected 600 plus hour Pilates Certification taught by second generation classical Pilates masters Marianne Adams and Rebecca Quin at Appalachian State University.

Kelly is constantly refining her work and is involved in many continuing education programs. She completed her Fusion Pre and Post Natal teacher training in 2007 and the Smart Spine Professional workshop in 2008. She assisted Jennifer Gianni in the recent Balanced Body University Comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training and has recently completed her Gyrotonic^® Certification with Master Trainer Juergen Bamberger.

Since starting at Fusion Pilates in 2007, Kelly has built upon her classical foundation and has worked to expand and adapt her understanding of the Pilates Method to include systems tought to her by Jennifer and by Balanced Body University. The result is a highly trained instructor on the cutting edge of the discipline with a dedication to a constant honing of her considerable skills.

Casey Marie Herdt

"If knowledge is power, then self knowledge is empowerment."

Casey Herdt grew up a runner, swimmer, skier, gymnast, and competitive soccer player in Tucson, AZ. Focused, intelligent, and physically gifted, her promising career as an athlete was derailed by a variety of injuries before it could truly begin. Unsure of what was next in life for the first time, and with her spirit as broken as her body; Casey attended a Pilates class with Tracie Anderson Munn in 2002 and fell in love instantly with the work.

In the spring of 2003, Casey had the honor of being certified by Marie-Jose Blom, owner and founder of Long Beach Dance Conditioning in Long Beach, CA. She then apprenticed with her mentor Tracie Anderson Munn at her studio, Anderson Pilates, eventually becoming a teacher there. In 2004, after moving to Boston, MA, Casey began teaching at Everybody Fitness where she also received training in classical Pilates in the Romana style. After moving back to Tucson in 2007 and rejoining Anderson Pilates, Casey completed the Fusion Pilates Pre- and Post-Natal Pilates training where she met and instantly became friends with Jennifer Gianni. At a workshop in 2010, Casey once again worked with Jennifer, it was clear to Casey that her next step was to relocate and become an instructor at Fusion Pilates in Asheville, NC. Shortly after making the move across country, Casey was ready to expand her movement knowledge and completed her Gyrotonic Foundation Teacher Training Course Level 1 certification.

In the years since her first class, Casey has remained a devoted student of Pilates. With an ever curious mind, she has explored numerous other movement modalities - always striving to learn more in order to create and offer an expansive and engaging practice. Casey believes in the philosophy that by helping people find the freedom in their body, that it will allow them to more truly follow their heart. In 2010, she founded Ritual Wellness LLC to further pursue her dream of helping people help themselves and follow their dreams.

Another passion of Casey's that is near and dear to her heart is reconstructive makeup for burn survivors, cancer patients, and others with cranial facial deformities. Professionally trained at David Nicholas International in Boston, MA in a variety of concentrations, she was called to reconstructive makeup as her specialty after working directly with David Nicholas at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Anne Mettee

Anne discovered Pilates in 2003 as a way to bounce back after the birth of her third child. She knew immediately that she wanted to learn everything there was to know and to teach the work to others. She explored the work on her own for a few years while searching for a mentor which she found in Jennifer Gianni. Anne has earned a comprehensive Pilates certification from Balanced Body University and has also undergone the rigorous Gyrotonic teacher training after which she was certified by master trainer, Juergen Bamberger.

Anne is a former competitive diver and has coached swimming, diving, soccer, lacrosse, and running. Teaching has always been a part of Anne's life and her work at Fusion Pilates is a perfect continuation of this passion. Anne is also an accomplished fashion designer and owner of the Hazel Anne clothing line.

Kimberly Budd

Kim Budd is originally a native of the Twin Cities, MN. She discovered Pilates as a dancer at Beloit College, WI in 2003 while attending an American College Dance Festival Association conference and loved the way it strengthened, lengthened and balanced her body. After a foot injury Kim sustained to her posterior tibial tendon as a dancer in 2005 she reconnected with Pilates as a way to rehabilitate her foot, leg and entire body after surgery.

Kim worked heavily with the prominent physical therapist Evie Russell in Minneapolis, who works primarily with the dance community in Minneapolis and integrates Pilates into the rehabilitative process.

In 2009 Kim moved to the San Francisco Bay area and began to train with renowned Ellie Herman Studios in Oakland, CA. She became certified in 2011. Kim has attended classes, privates and workshops from Bay Area Pilates experts such as Sharon Gallagher, Liz Roman and Nancy Myers. She also attended an intensive workshop with Denise Vidal, Ellie Herman's Brooklyn studio Pilates rehabilitative specialist. Kim has recently relocated to the Asheville area and is excited to build her home in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

Evette Suero-Yahn

My family and I moved to Asheville after enjoying several summers here and realizing the quality of life this wonderful city offered. Coming from a dance teaching background, I was searching for an exercise that would incorporate the flowing core building movements of dance, the centered balance and breath of yoga, and the strength training of Pilates. I finally found what I was looking for when Jennifer Gianni introduced me to the Gyrotonic Methodology. This exercise technique changed my body and overall health to the point where I have never felt stronger, and because of this, I decided to train to become an instructor myself in order to share this discovery with other men and women of my age. Teaching is defined as "to cause to learn by experience or example," and look forward to imparting both at Fusion Pilates Asheville.

Kris Mease

Kris's interest in Pilates was sparked in the spring of 2002 after taking several classes in Sacramento, California. Though she had been practicing various forms of dance and yoga since her youth, through Pilates she gained strength, stability, and a better understanding of her body. From Sacramento, Kris moved to the Bay Area in California where she began training intensively with Ellie Herman Studios in San Francisco and discovered a passion for teaching. She completed her teacher certification in April 2006 and became an instructor for Ellie Herman Studios teaching all levels of group classes and working privately with clients including those recovering from injuries or experiencing pain, athletes looking to enhance their performance, and pre and post natal women.

She continues to develop her repertoire by attending various workshops and trainings, including rehabilitation trainings.

In addition to being a Certified Pilates Instructor, Kris holds a master's degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Her emphasis was on social and economic development with a specialization in business and she completed her degree while studying and working in Nepal. Before beginning her teaching career as a Pilates instructor she worked for a small business development firm helping low to moderate income people start their own businesses.