Beacon Journal staff writer
Tom Smith glanced at the door.
``This is Miss Ohio,'' he told a woman who walked into his Pilates studio in Akron.
Chances are, she might have wondered why a gal with a sash and crown was sitting on one of the machines while a cameraman was going nuts snapping photos.
Fact is, Tom is teaching Anna Melomud how to strengthen and stretch her body. She doesn't want to look ``bulky'' when competing in the Miss USA pageant in Los Angeles later this month.
At 5 feet 8 inches tall and 115 pounds -- fat chance.
Still, as Tom explained, Pilates lengthens the muscles and gives the appendages greater stability and flexibility. It will also help Anna walk erect, keep a good posture and maintain durability during the stressful competition.
Tom, who is also a professor of modern dance at the University of Akron, first learned about Pilates in the '70s, when he was dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York. A few weeks before he was to perform solo at Carnegie Hall, Tom sprained his ankle. Graham told him Pilates would help strengthen the weakened area.
When it worked, he was sold.
TKPN
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