THE JUMBO'S STAR WITH SERIOUS PILATES CLOUT

ASHLEY HAYWARD'S IN-DEMAND LOS FELIZ FITNESS CLASSES FEATURE LOUD, VIBRANT MUSIC AND MEASURED MOVEMENTS

- BY MADDIE CONNORS

Photographs by MAGGIE SHANNON For The Times

ASHLEY HAYWARD leads a popular Pilates class at WundaBar, above. Class participants use reformers and assorted free weights to tone and stretch.

SHE WORKS LATE. A few weeks ago, on a Saturday night, Ashley Hayward was "in the pocket” onstage at Jumbo's Clown Room-that elusive, divine state of being that all performers chase, where artist and audience merge. From the stage, she bit into a banana before spitting it into a woman's mouth, sealing it with a kiss. The crowd erupted into cheers. Later, she reappeared in a nun's habit, peeling it off to reveal black vinyl lingerie. The crowd gawks at her devout eyes wide, lips parted as if witnessing a miracle. "I was in the pocket the entire night," Hayward recalls. "I got onstage the first time, got them and I had them the whole night. Those are the special nights because you're creating something together." By day, Hayward leads a different kind of performance, teaching Pilates at WundaBar's mirrored studio in Los Feliz. She leads the class with the same conviction she embodies as a dancer. In a black headset fit for a pop star, she paces around the studio in a black unitard, leading the class through repetitions and poses.

"Ashley, you look like Madonna!" one of her students excitedly shouts at the end of class. The class has garnered a cult following among Pilates students who are fans of the dancer's nighttime antics. Hannah Benson is a regular at Hayward's class. "There's more fluidity to her Pilates routines akin to dancing - she understands how a body naturally moves in a way that makes me feel more comfortable in my own," Benson says.