Meet the Founders — Katherine and Kimberly Corp

Some Pilates organizations are built around a curriculum. PAI was built around a conviction.

Katherine Corp and Kimberly Corp — identical twins, former Radio City Rockettes, Duke and Columbia University graduates, and two of the most widely traveled Pilates educators in the world — founded Pilates Academy International in 2005 after a decade of performing, teaching, and training across the United States and Japan.

A Background That Shaped Everything

Before they were Pilates educators, Katherine and Kimberly were performers — members of the iconic Radio City Rockette Company, one of the most demanding professional dance environments in the world. That background gave them an intimate understanding of what a body is capable of, what it requires to sustain peak performance, and — critically — what happens when an instructor prioritizes aesthetics over wellbeing.

Their years living and working in Japan deepened that perspective further. Fluent in Japanese — they speak, read, and write the language — Katherine and Kimberly developed a deep appreciation for the precision, discipline, and cultural nuance required to teach movement across cultures. That experience is woven into everything PAI does, including the fact that PAI now operates more than 10 satellite centers in Japan alone.

Why They Founded PAI

PAI was not founded to replicate what already existed. It was founded in direct response to what Katherine and Kimberly found was missing: a Pilates certification program that prepared instructors to teach all clients — not just the already-fit, the already-flexible, or the already-motivated.

The PAI method is built on the belief that the classical Pilates repertoire, taught intelligently and with appropriate modification, is accessible to every body. No client should ever leave a session feeling they are not enough. That conviction is not marketing language. It is the founding principle of this organization.

Twenty Years Later

Today, PAI operates more than 40 satellite centers across six continents, holds ITTAP accreditation from the PMA, and is an approved continuing education provider for ACE, NASM, AFAA, and NPCP. Katherine serves as Director of Operations; Kimberly as Director of Education. Between them, they have trained thousands of instructors who are now teaching in studios, gyms, hospitals, and private practices worldwide.

The conviction that started it all has not changed.