Things to Do in Nashville

As a ballet dancer, David Gensheimer didn't need much help becoming lean, limber, and lithe. But when he found himself recovering from knee surgery, he knew he needed to find something that would keep him strong without compromising his healing process. In addition to physical therapy, he turned to Pilates and was won over by the sport's ability to strengthen core muscles and enhance flexibility. Though he was back to pirouetting in no time, David never lost the Pilates bug and went on to complete his Pilates training while serving as a company member with Ballet Austin and Nashville Ballet and dancing with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company and Stillpoint.

Today, when he's not busy dancing his way through guest performances around the country, David helms Simply Balanced where he helps others strengthen, rehabilitate, and challenge their bodies through Pilates and yoga classes. Students can also try Gyrotonic classes, which blend elements of gymnastics, yoga, dance, and tai chi, performed on a weight and pulley machine that engages the entire body. Beyond transforming the way visitors look, move, and feel about spandex shorts, the Simply Balanced studio also showers them with feel-good perks such as complimentary beverages, free parking, and access to a team of highly trained massage therapists.

Minty-green and cool-blue walls set off by polished hardwood floors create a serene setting for reformer- and mat-based workouts led by Pilates instructor Shana Wilson Doyle, who spent nearly a decade honing her Stott Pilates skills. Group mat classes vary in difficulty to help practitioners of all fitness levels protect their precious caramel centers by building tough abdominal shells. Specialty Pilates equipment, such as the reformer and the tower, enhance private and semi-private sessions, where Shana guides students through efficient resistance moves and can provide clients with more personalized attention.

Third Coast Clay Ceramic Studio pairs aspiring aesthetes with an unfinished clay form, allowing them to add pigment and pizzazz. Once a piece-to-be-masterpieced has been selected—be it a plate, vase, coffee mug, or bust of Elvis—decorators can begin applying base coats to their evolving ceramic canvas. Those who suffer from painter's block can consult Third Coast's bountiful idea books, stencils, and stamps or resolve it the old-fashioned way by pacing the studio floor with a corncob pipe. All the finished pieces are then set aside to be glazed and fired later by the studio staff. Your objet d'art will be ready for pickup in a week. Each brushwielder will be assessed a $6 studio fee along with the price of whichever starting piece he or she selects ($6–$40 depending on size).

While bringing your own paint to one of Art by the Glass's classes is as pointless and unnecessary as male nipples, bringing your own wine or beer to an Art by the Glass class is as liberating as it is legal. Pair your storebought chardonnay with an evening of brush-stroking contemporary paisley trees on Friday, May 14, or get painted away again in margaritaville during the beach-inspired class on Thursday, June 10.

The Belcourt Theatre has served up piping hot, crunchy pop culture under various monikers since its days as a silent movie house in 1925. A not-for-profit independent movie theater dedicated to preserving its precious plot of history and revitalizing Nashville culture through film, the Belcourt hosts movies, music, and live theater fresh from society's collective unconscious. With the Screenwriter Membership, you and one other person can take advantage of a year's worth of $5.75 tickets to all movies (excluding special events). The Belcourt's screenings run the artistic gamut, featuring both repertory films such as Flash Gordon and Hitchcock's classic North by Northwest, and first-run films such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers. Also featured are programs such as Weekend Classics, which highlights actors and directors like Cary Grant and Akira Kurosawa, or the Midnight Movies series—screenings of cult-leaning movies from the likes of David Lynch, John Hughes, and others.

Revisit E. B. White's classic tale of Charlotte's Web, where Wilbur the runt piglet is saved from becoming his farmer's dinner by a lovable spider named Charlotte. With help from the other barn animals, Wilbur becomes a pig savant instead of a pig savory in this poignant children's story. Charlotte's Web is playing on June 5 at 2 p.m., June 11 at 6:30 p.m., June 19 at 2 p.m., and June 25 at 6:30 p.m.