GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM®, Juliu Horvath and Miami Beach GYROTONIC®:
A History
Juliu Horvath was an ethnic Hungarian born in Romania in 1942, in the middle of WWII.
As a child, his love of movement was expressed through his successful practice of swimming, gymnastics and rowing. At the age of 19 he began to take dance classes and by the age of 21 he was principle dancer of the Romanian National Ballet Company.
While on tour in Italy in 1970, he defected and stayed in a refugee camp for six months. Juliu then received political asylum in the United States and he thus traveled to New York City. He eventually landed dancing jobs with The New York City Opera, was a guest artist at Radio City Music Hall and also danced for a special tour company with international stars such as Margot Fonteyn, Jacques d’Amboise and Melissa Hayden. Juliu eventually secured a job as principal dancer with the Houston Ballet. While with the Houston Ballet, he ruptured his Achilles tendon, which brought his dancing career to a sudden halt.
With this injury, Juliu moved back to New York City where he focused on his yoga practice. He began to experience profound energetic movements in his body. Desiring to learn more about these experiences and to heal from his injury, he moved to the Island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in order to create an environment dedicated to his needs. For several years the study of yoga and meditation became his way of life. Eventually, a system evolved from his practice that was an outgrowth of his energetic experiences. He named it “Yoga for Dancers”.
In the early 1980s, Juliu moved back to New York City and began teaching “Yoga for Dancers” at Steps on Broadway. He opened the first studio for the teaching of this method called White Cloud Studio.
With time, Juliu refined “Yoga for Dancers” into a format that almost any person could perform, regardless of age or state of health. He named this refined version of “Yoga for Dancers” the GYROKINESIS® methodology,
which is what it is called today, however the original “Yoga for Dancers” movements are still taught as part of the GYROKINESIS® Level 2 Program.
It was at White Cloud Studio that he was also building equipment to enhance the GYROKINESIS® movements. Now exercises that are done utilizing any of the specialized and world-renowned equipment is referred to as GYROTONIC® exercises.
The GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® comprising of GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® exercises are now taught by Licensed Trainers in over 48 Countries and the number of training centers offering these modalities is steadily growing.
Juliu Horvath continues to create and teach GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Courses worldwide!
In the late 1990s, the manufacturing of equipment took off, and people were able to purchase the Gyrotonic Pulley Tower for their home or exercise studio after they had completed the teacher training process.
Eventually, Juliu closed White Cloud studio and relocated to Miami Beach, FL. Here, he opened a studio where he could conduct the Final Certificate Courses for teachers in training and where he could also continue to educate the Teacher Trainers, called Master Trainers, of Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis. Simultaneously a similar location was established in Germany where he lives during the summer months.
As of 2008, the studio in Miami Beach was opened to the public, renamed Miami Beach Gyrotonic and is operated by Master Trainer Mari Kasich. Miami Beach Gyrotonic continues to host the Gyrotonic Final Certificate Courses and Educational courses by Juliu Horvath while also offering group and private classes to the public!