INHealth: Cirque du Pilates
by Greta Perry
photography by Thomas B. Growden
If you haven’t tried Pilates yet, chances are good that you know someone who already has. Originally developed by Joseph Pilates to facilitate rehabilitation of wartime injury and illness during World War II, the exercise phenomenon is a movement technique which fully integrates the mind, breath and the body as a complete unit through the use of specific progressive exercises. Each exercise is performed with a conscientious focus on precise alignment and breath rhythm. When executed properly, the exercises yield stronger muscles with greater range of motion. Dramatic improvement is also often found in the Pilates student’s balance, flexibility and lung capacity.
Pilates provides unique benefits to all across the age and sports skill spectrum with the hopes of producing a lifestyle change that will benefit them in anything and everything they do. It offers a low-impact approach to one’s total fitness improvement and can help to prevent future injuries by increasing flexibility, strength and increased total body awareness. 
The Lous
Pilates has taken America by storm as followers tout its benefits, and the northshore is quickly catching on. If you are already a Pilates devotee, you may have already heard the names Rob and Amanda Lou—a local couple who have recently established themselves as Pilates instructors on the northshore.
The Lous are one of those couples that were meant to be—they literally flew into each other’s arms. (More about that later.) Their mutual admiration and respect for each other is as overwhelming and powerful as their ambition to achieve their combined goals. They began fulfilling their goals of living closer to Amanda’s family, planting some roots, starting a family and opening their own Pilates studio just after their pre-Katrina arrival on the northshore from California. They purchased a home and ran the Franco’s Pilates program for a year until they opened their own Pilates studio, with Franco’s blessing. They also conducted private in-home sessions on both sides of the lake.
Although they started small, the Lous have outgrown their initial location and are in the process of opening a new studio on West Causeway Approach in Mandeville. Feng Shui and Asian in theme, the upscale “pilates emBodyment” will offer an inviting and relaxing atmosphere catering to men, women, pre-teens and athletes of all ages, with special pre-natal, post-natal and sport-specific Pilates.
Rob the Performer
Rob and Amanda did more individually prior to their meeting each other than most people will do if given ten lifetimes.
Rob was born in Southeast Los Angeles and raised in Anaheim. An energetic child who dabbled in high school sports and martial arts, he was a hard worker and a fairly decent student. After high school, Rob was still unsure of what he wanted to do. For two years, he took as many different types of jobs as he could, most of which involved a physical component. He had gigs in acting, broadcasting, dance and stunt work. Before long, he found himself unemployed and decided to go to college.
During college, Rob took in every venue related to the performing arts that he could manage. He studied classical theater, modern dance, jazz, hip-hop, acting, broadcasting—any type of career that would combine his life experiences with his book knowledge. He continued to work any performing job he could get, while studying hard. It was a choreographer’s criticism of his flexibility during a dance rehearsal that lead him to his fascination with Pilates. He was told by other performers that Pilates would be the only way to increase his flexibility.
After college, his leap to a career in the performing arts was with the tour group Diavolo, which traveled all over the world with a show that provided a mix of acrobatics and dance. During a tour, Diavolo and Robert were contracted by Disney to choreograph a stunt show for Disney’s California Adventure park. It was there that Robert learned to perform high falls and helped train performers. He realized that he liked to fly through the air and continued to live the entertainment industry life—a feast or famine business. An opportunity opened to head to Tokyo Disney for a show called “Mystic Rhythms,” which involved silk and wire-style flying and acrobats. Rob grabbed the opportunity and landed in Japan.
Amanda the Dancer
Amanda was born and raised in Metairie, the daughter of a dance instructor and niece of a dance school owner. She basically danced from the time she was in her crib. It was in her blood. Growing up in a dance school, she was pushed to excel in a positive way that encouraged her passion for dance. She attended Dominican High School and, during one summer vacation, had the opportunity to travel to Tampa and Miami for a musical theater project. There, she fell in love with performing even more, as she had the opportunity to tap dance with Gregory Hines, act with Ann Reinking (of Broadway’s “Chicago”) and sing with Vanessa Williams in “Broadway 96.” Amanda performed the opening monologue. She also toured with “Dance Olympus” and, from that point on, it was obvious she would spend her life performing.
During Amanda’s senior year, she was chosen to attend the half-day program at Dominican, followed by the prestigious half-day program at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. She danced, sang and acted her way through graduation. She qualified for many scholarships to prominent universities, but decided on the University of New Orleans. During her first year of college, a friend pleaded with her to go to an upcoming Magazine Street audition for Disney. Reluctantly, she competed in the four-day audition with 400 other people, but was not immediately offered a job. When she was preparing to leave for her second year of college, six months after the Disney audition, she got the call. She was off to Florida within a week’s time.
The then 17-year-old (she started school early) performed full-time in “Kids in the Kingdom” and, despite her homesickness, fell in love with Disney. She stayed on for an additional five years and then took a seven-month stint on a Royal Caribbean cruise line playing Cassie in “The Chorus Line.” Seven months was enough, and she went back to Disney. An opportunity opened up in Tokyo Disney—a job as an aerialist. In 2002, she literally flew into the arms of her husband-to-be—a fairy tale “love at first sight,” with some Disney flying magic.
Flying Together
After months of performing in Japan, Amanda was asked to return to Disney World for a Christmas show and Rob was called to Montreal to perform with Cirque du Soleil. Before their work-related separation, Rob proposed. The two married in July 2003 in Louisiana. Immediately following the wedding, they moved to California to train with the best Pilates instructors available. After attending school full-time, they became nationally certified Pilates instructors. The couple then left the hectic and expensive lifestyle of California to fulfill their dreams of owning their own Pilates studio and starting a family on the northshore.
Expecting their first child and anticipating the grand opening of their new studio this summer, they are well on their way—flying together.
