Ashley Hayward: Jumbo icon – and WundaBar Pilates instructor

She works late. A few weeks ago, on a Saturday night, Ashley Hayward was “in the pocket” on stage at Jumbo’s Clown Room – that divine, elusive state of being that all artists seek, 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 burst into joy. She later reappeared in a nun’s habit, removing it to reveal black vinyl lingerie. The crowd looks at her – devout eyes wide, lips parted as if witnessing a miracle.

“I was in the pocket all night,” Hayward recalled. “I got on stage the first time, I got them and I had them all night. They’re special nights because you create something together.”

By day, Hayward leads a different type of performance, teaching Pilates in the mirrored studio at WundaBar in Los Feliz. She leads the class with the same conviction she exemplifies as a dancer. In a black headpiece fit for a pop star, she walks around the studio in a black jumpsuit, leading the class through rehearsals and poses.

“Ashley, you look like Madonna!” shouts one of his students enthusiastically at the end of the lesson. The class has gained cult status among Pilates students who are fans of the dancer’s nighttime antics. Hannah Benson is a regular in Hayward’s class. “Her Pilates routines are more fluid than dance—she understands how a body naturally moves in a way that makes me feel more comfortable in mine,” Benson says.

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1. Students in Ashley Hayward’s Pilates class work through movement at WundaBar. 2. Cecilia Fairchild holds a free weight. 3. A student does exercises standing on the reformer.

The Oregon native moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music and dance. “I felt commercial dancing was very restrictive. I just couldn’t find my rhythm.” She began exploring burlesque. Soon, friends recommended she dance at the iconic burlesque bar Jumbo’s Clown Room. “It changed everything for me. It was the first time I could dance full time,” she says. Since 2018, Hayward has been a beloved dancer at Jumbo’s Clown Room. “I’m very grateful to have found this space, because we have a lot of freedom there.”

“It changed everything for me,” says Ashley Hayward. “It was the first time I was able to dance full time.”

In recent years, Hayward has become a staple of the city’s nightlife. Since 2017, she has also hosted a live “rock ‘n’ roll sleaze” show called Night scenehosted by a live band, Night Boys, and featuring burlesque dancers. The chaotic show pays homage to DIY punk scenes like no other in town.

“The night scene is something that doesn’t exist, at least in Los Angeles,” she said. “I feel like there was a hole there and I wanted to fill it.” The show is gearing up for its biggest show yet, January 21 at Zebulon in Silver Lake. “It’s a big room to fill. But we deserve to be on a big stage,” she explains.

Hayward first fell in love with Pilates in high school and rediscovered it after the pandemic. After taking classes at WundaBar, she was drawn to the style and flow of the studio. “I felt like I learned everything as a student, but I wanted to dig deeper,” she says. “The best way to do that was to be an instructor.” With encouragement from the studio owner, Hayward earned her certification and began teaching Pilates classes.

Students in Ashley Hayward’s Pilates class use free weights on reformers.

As a dancer, Pilates was a natural fit for Hayward. Pole dancing can be hard on the body. “Working at Jumbo with the pole is very hard. It requires a lot of strength. So for me, it’s a no-brainer,” she says.

The positive influence of Pilates has spilled over into every aspect of Hayward’s life. She developed more confidence as a dancer and performer. “I’ve gotten so much stronger since I started Pilates, and it’s helped me on stage,” she says. “I also incorporated it into my onstage persona, which is really nice, because now I’m more comfortable on the mic.”

Hayward has a unique educational flair, inspired by her time as a dancer. “I try to make it energetic. I like loud music,” she says. “I think it comes from the fact that I work at Jumbo’s and I’m an artist.”

Ashley Hayward’s Pilates students praise her music and energetic style.

Hayward’s class champions a health-focused approach to physical outcomes. “Working out will always be good for your brain, and it’s the best anti-aging tool we have.” She encourages her students to adopt this mentality. “My body and everything changed when I changed my mindset. I started thinking, I’m here because it’s good for me. I’m not here because I want to punish myself,” she says.

Brooke Noonan, a student in Hayward’s Pilates class, says Hayward offers corrections gracefully, without calling attention to mistakes. Hayward’s impeccable DJ skills are a bonus. “The music is always amazing. Ashley definitely has a great history of going to raves – playing house classics and deep cuts,” says Noonan.

“I also incorporated it into my onstage persona, which is really nice, because now I’m more comfortable on the mic,” says Ashley Hayward.

Although having a vibrant nightlife and waking up for a sweat-inducing workout might seem like a contradiction, Hayward sees them as complementary. “I want to inspire people that you can have both. You can exist in both worlds,” she says. “There can be a lot of late hours and substances involved. It can be an unhealthy lifestyle, but you can be healthy and live through the night.”

In the coming years, Hayward aims to grow his fitness career. In addition to teaching at WundaBar and offering private training, Hayward aspires to have his own space and develop his own training method. “One of my dreams has always been to have my own training method,” she says. “Being in nightlife and fitness, I’m able to attract everyone and make it inclusive. The future for me would definitely be to have my own method and teach all forms, and just get people to really move.”

Until then, Hayward can be found at WundaBar on Mondays and Fridays. Later in the evening, she will be on the mirror stage of Jumbo’s Clown Room. “Although I may look from the outside as your typical Pilates instructor, my style and what I bring to it is so different.”