The founder
A lifetime dedicated to movement.
As founder of BASI Pilates Studio Zürich, Sima brings the precision of professional dance and decades of teaching to a deeply personal approach to Pilates.
Movement has been at the centre of Sima’s life since childhood. She trained in classical ballet at the State Ballet Institute in Budapest, following the Vaganova Method. Her professional dance career took her to Ballet Junior de Genève, Theater Ulm and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, where she later performed as a guest dancer. She also worked extensively in film and television as an actress, while movement remained a constant in her life.
Her interest in teaching led her to a Master of Advanced Studies in Dance Pedagogy at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). She later taught future dance educators there, including children’s dance and pre-ballet, and taught students in professional training at the Zurich Dance Academy (taZ). For almost 30 years, she also founded and directed her own private ballet school, sharing her experience with generations of students.
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Pilates had accompanied Sima for many years before she completed the BASI Pilates Comprehensive Teacher Training Course (CTTC) in 2015. She went on to complete every level of the BASI Legacy Program: Mentor, Master I, Master II and Honors. Today she is a BASI Pilates Faculty member, teaching future Pilates professionals alongside her own clients. The studio she founded is an official BASI Host Studio for teacher training and continuing education in Zürich.
Sima’s teaching begins with curiosity about the individual body. She observes posture, alignment and movement patterns to understand the reasons behind compensations, rather than correcting only what is visible. Working with each person, she develops better organisation, strength, mobility and control. The goal is not a “perfect” posture, but a body that moves more adaptably and efficiently in Pilates, sport, dance and everyday life.
Her interest in health also led her to study Personal Health Coaching at the University of Basel. As an EMR-recognised Personal Health Coach, she draws on evidence-based approaches to health promotion and behaviour change, helping people recognise patterns and build healthier, lasting habits. For Sima, Pilates is more than a workout: it is a movement system that brings together dance, pedagogy, anatomy and health, helping people understand their bodies and move with greater strength, mobility and awareness.
