Episode 3: Taste, Burlesque, and Beyond with Brenda Quaife

In this episode, Brenda discusses her extensive background in dance, which began at the age of five. She shares that dance is "in the blood," with her mother, grandmother, and great-aunt all having been dancers. Brenda has a prolific performance history in Las Vegas, appearing in iconic shows like Jubilee, Folies Bergere, and Showgirls of Magic. She has also traveled the world, performing in cities such as London, Paris, and Rome.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:12

Welcome to Between Two Poles, where we meet the faces of Pole Fitness Studio and beyond. Today we're here with Brenda, and she's been with us since around 2015. I was doing some math. Well, Brenda, thanks for sitting with us today. How did you get started in dance?

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Um, I was about five years old, and my mom said, Let's go to dance class. Well, that was I really didn't have much of an input. So she just said, let's tie, let's go to dance. No, of course, I was dancing around the house and all that. Yeah. Um, so just from five years old, I just never stopped. I'm 42.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Oh, I love that. So you weren't crying in class.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

No, oh no, there was definitely tears. Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. Especially the older you get and and the more serious you take it, and then it becomes a passionate thing where you're like, I want to be really good, but you're like 14, so you're like, I'm really bad. Oh you can't see the good, you know, growing up.

SPEAKER_03 1:06

So And did your mom dance?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Yes, and so did my grandmother and my great aunt Eleanor. Yeah, so it's it's in the blood.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

I love that. Oh man, if we just had a baby Brenda, she'd be dancing.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

There is kind of one. My sister, uh well, my niece. My sister has a daughter, Olivia. Oh, there we go. Yeah, and she uh she's a phenomenal dancer. She's 14, really, really good. Yeah, she's we're I'm not gonna let that in. That's that will be in the family. Perfect. The family line somehow should ever run out.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Is she coming here? When when am I gonna meet this woman?

SPEAKER_01 1:38

She's actually she comes here.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

And I love your socks, by the way. I just noticed.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

These are actually my favorite. I I still need to, like I said, more. They really are my favorite. I wash them a lot.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Okay. It'd be warning. Oh, they're gorgeous. Now, where have you performed with all this dance experience?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Um, everywhere. I have uh done about oh god, probably 30 at this point or more shows just here in the city, in Las Vegas. What would be some names? Um, Jubilee, Fali's Bougiers, Showgirls of Magic, Ex Burlesque. Um that's impressive right there in breast. Barlesque. I was thinking, can't worry about taste. Taste is the one that I'm currently in.

SPEAKER_03 2:20

It's so funny because I constantly forget about it.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

I do too. It's such a great show. Hey, I'm just getting ready for it every second of my life, and then when we talk about it, I'm like, no, this is when I'm decompressing.

SPEAKER_03 2:28

I know, and it only happens five times a year. So you have to check us out. Instagram, taste the show. Okay, yeah, because the other day I was on this show apparently, and I forgot about my own show. Oh, good. So we're doing good. Yeah. Now, where have you performed besides those shows? Have you traveled around the world a little bit?

SPEAKER_01 2:45

I've been to um London, Paris, Rome, Santiago, Chile, ironically. Um, I have traveled basically everywhere in the United States. We've gone to Mexico. Um, yeah, I I've traveled a lot.

SPEAKER_03 2:59

Wow. Are there any places that you'd like to go back and see?

SPEAKER_01 3:03

I would go to uh Baracay, Philippines again in a heartbeat. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

What was so great about there?

SPEAKER_01 3:09

So we were there for two weeks. I was in a band called 5150, and we were there for about two weeks. So we we started in Manila and uh had performance out there for Dudaton, which is a giant tattoo uh festival. So we performed for them and we had time off, so we went to Parokai, which is uh just a little island, and oh my god, it was amazing. I will never forget this. I got a was getting massage on the water. You can hear the ocean waves crashing in.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

Oh love.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

And then it starts to rain. They don't stop your massage, they just climb on things and start covering you. And the massage doesn't end, and then when the, you know, and then when it's done raining, they'll take it down so you can be in the sun again. And I think I spent maybe$10.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Just because the the currency is a bit different.

SPEAKER_03 3:56

That is incredible. Oh, if you if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you like to live?

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Oh boy, that's a loaded question right now.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

Okay, well, let's unload it and just steep in for you.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

If the world was uh um a little sparklier right now, just pretend it's all rainbows. Rainbows and butterflies, yes. Um beyond the ice wall. I'm just kidding, I'm not a flat earther.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

I do know one man that is.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

I'm sure listen, there's again, there's so much craziness going on. Like, just bring on the aliens. Let's let's see what's let's see what's happening. But I think um I I would want to I don't know if I'd want to necessarily move anywhere else because I really love my home here, but I do think it would be cool to, and again, in a perfect world, take the opportunity to go to like I don't know, Greenland for a month and you know, Australia for a month and just go explore some places that I haven't been. But Vegas is home.

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Yeah. Vegas is addicting.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

It is. I did try to leave and I came back.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

Where did you try to go to?

SPEAKER_01 5:01

San Diego. And well, no, it's funny because everyone goes, Well, well, why didn't you? Why would you not stay in San Diego? Like I lived basically walking distance to the water. Well, yeah. No, that's all you get, and then you're broke, and then you're broke.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

It's kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

You can get down to the water and that's what you can enjoy.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

Oh, but you had that experience. Yeah, you sure did. Now, what what is a day in Brenda look like from your daily rituals to blah blah blah?

SPEAKER_01 5:29

I'm laughing because Mana knows exactly what my daily rituals are.

SPEAKER_03 5:33

But you don't.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

What do I do? I get up and I come to Bull Fitness Studio, and then I train some clients at Bull Fitness Studio, and then I go home and go to bed, and then I get up and I repeat that.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

That's true, but there's more to Brenda than that.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

There is because there's something that you do every day that you think we should all do. Everyone should 1000% have a gratitude journal. Um that that especially uh all all joking aside going into serious talk, there is so much heaviness going on in the world right now that it is it's very easy to get caught in the weight of it all, especially with some recent things that have come to light. So it can be overwhelming and you can feel guilt and you can feel lost in it and feel how do I help? Um I don't know why it's making me a little choked up. But um, if you have gratitude, then you can really sit back and go, if I can find my happiness, if I can find the light in every single day, that is my job to help other people do that. So I buy everyone a gratitude journal. Like, no joke. If you again, if you you get caught up in so much because there is so much, but if you can sit back and go, I always tell you this, stop and smell the roses, right? Yes. So when you stop and smell the roses, you can go, there is so much going on, but holy crap.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

And I love your lat uh latitude journals.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

My latitude journals. I love your gratitude journals because it's I share them with you a lot. You my name is on it. My name.

SPEAKER_03 6:55

Like she gave me this journal, and my name is literally on the journal. Like this big thing's in my face. Excuse me. My mouth is getting dry.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

So, yeah, so um, I I I will say for myself, maybe that's why I'm getting choked up, is that the weight of the world can make you depressed. And I was a I will say I was a very depressed person. So to get up every morning and just want to go, like wanna wanna go to the studio, want to see my students, want to help my clients, just kind of scream from the rooftops, you're worthy, you're loved, you're valued, you're seen. Like, and and not even and it's a really cool thing because it's not even sometimes within yourself or with with somebody else, it's within yourself. You look in the mirror and you'll be like, I just do that trick. Did I just did I just invert? And so it's it's when you can take those moments, and and this is why I do love the studio so much, is because it is such an absolutely overwhelmingly empowering empowered place. Again, you can you can start at square one, and then it can be even just a fireman spin or an inversion, whatever it might be. You don't need the gratification, you don't need the validation from your peers, but you're gonna get it. I mean, you're gonna get it, no doubt. Like we scream, we hoot and holler. But it is something really, really cool where you can go, huh? I just did that. I didn't even know what I was gonna do when I got here. I just there was a poll, and people are having fun, and I don't want to go to the gym. And then, and then the next thing you know, you're just conquering and conquering and conquering. And there is so much pride and there's so much like self-love that comes with that. Because once you step outside of your comfort zone and you start to see that you can become so successful, like how dare you not sit in your gratitude for a second? Like, how dare you not go, I just inverted. I don't care if anyone else saw that. I just went upside down. I've been trying for six months to go upside down and I just went upside down. Like, when you can stop and breathe that in for yourself, you've arrived. Like, and and I will say again, Pull Fitness Studio and I'm I'm hoping other dance studios just across the globe are just feeling that same, that same empowerment, that same love, that same um I don't even know what the word is, I wanted to just that that finding your way out of the the muck and finding something to feel good about. Um, and I will say sitting around and not feeling your passions and not doing the things that are making you want to get out of bed. You're just spinning, you're just spinning the wheel.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

Yeah, I think when people come here, they feel like I've arrived. Yes, and I've I've found it. This is it. Yeah. Because people are constantly searching. Yeah. Wow, what was her name? Um, love, love, eat, pray, pray, eat, love.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That movie.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

Yeah. Anyway, I should even know Julia Roberts, my god. She's slightly starish. Um now this is where I'd like to bring you to a fun part of our show, but of course my notes are in my bag, so this may end up Okay, good.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Because they keep leaning to her, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Yeah, and I think if you it's like it just sounds better too.

SPEAKER_03 10:01

You're such a great guest, Brenda.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

You can tell I'm tired. I'm like, oh now I'm crying.

SPEAKER_03 10:07

That was me yesterday, and I'm like, I can't cry, I gotta see my wifey tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

What are we doing?

SPEAKER_03 10:12

Are you PMSing? Uh I think I think I'm menopausine. Well you're doing mood swings are a thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Oh yeah. Well, and you we eat soy. And I what? We eat soy. I eat soy? Yeah. I do.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

What? You do, right? I do. Yeah, well, just because it's gonna um raise your estrogen a little bit. Uh which well, a lot of it, but which in that case will mean that your mood swings and hormone-related imbalances.

SPEAKER_03 10:41

And that might be what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Perk up. Yeah, I had Chef Kenny's with Darcy the other day, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

And also the world is the world is.

SPEAKER_03 10:53

The world is a vampire. Fill in the blank. What did you have for breakfast today?

SPEAKER_01 11:03

An impossible uh sandwich from Starbucks.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

Are you kidding me? Ugh. That's impossibly not well.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

No, it's disgusting. Delicious.

SPEAKER_03 11:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

And this is basically just a cup of sugar.

SPEAKER_03 11:20

Oh divine. Yes. I know we are both nutritional coaches. And you would never know it. Though I do. Actually, no, I I I did walk the talk and talk the walk today. Sometimes we don't. So now it is time for a little rapid fire. I didn't even warn you about this. Oh, good. Because great. You know what? You roll with the punches. This is what you do. So, Brenda, spinning or static?

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Oh boy. Spinning, but static's easier.

SPEAKER_03 11:52

Okay. Almost not like you said spitting, but I don't take you for that.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

No, you wouldn't spit on the pole.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Oh, okay. Okay. Hold on there. How about yoga or Pilates?

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Neither.

SPEAKER_03 12:04

Neither? That's fair. Whips or feathers? Feathers. Totally shocked right now. Oh my god. We might need to clean this mic. Top or bottom. Top. Vanilla or chocolate. Vanilla. Knew that. Coffee or tea? She's like, I just fit. She's tired. What's in your cup? Both.

unknown 12:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

Cat. Do not give me the giggles. Cat or dog? Dog. I knew it. Uh huh. Rave or meditation. You go to the rave and then you go to take. What is wrong with this? Public speaking or stripping? Public doll. I don't know what that was.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Oh no, I'm good.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Why does Barbara Walters do this? I don't know why I like to use any answer.

SPEAKER_03 13:11

Barbara Walters moves on. She's got a huge paycheck. Okay, what classes do you teach? All of them.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Seriously, I'm I'm doing that.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

Do you teach everything except belly dance? You could.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

I probably couldn't. Okay. There you go. Okay, I teach everything but belly dance.

SPEAKER_03 13:35

Or um trapeze. I feel like I could teach trapeze.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Do you anymore?

SPEAKER_03 13:44

I don't know why I'm getting the giggles.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

It's me. We've cried and we've laughed. We need not peeped my pants. We need a nap.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

I actually slept good last night.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Well, you know, when babies when they when they laugh and then they cry, it's just an emotional roller coaster.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

It's usually time for a nap. That's true. I think Raven tries to get the giggles on purpose and we're related, so this isn't going to be. This makes sense. Oh, it makes perfect sense. So I'm nervous for this next question, Brenda, but what gets you excited? My husband.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

That is so perfect. It's actually very true. You guys know I'm obsessed with it.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

And we love. We love that. He also works here. Yes, he does, Casey. Teach a little full body workout. I love that class. Oh, you do, yeah. You take the love. You go once a week and you look like you work out five days a week. Yeah, true. In my opinion. Now, um, you have a podcast, yeah, apparently, and I just found this out. Tell us about it.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

It's called the BoobTube.

SPEAKER_03 14:40

Love.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Where do we find it? Um, so you can go on estrogenfree.com um or even just look at estrogen free um or at estrogenfree um on your Instagram and the links will be there. It's basically everything hormones, hormones, hormones, hormones. We talk about everything from PCOS to male hormones. I mean, I was gonna ask you that. Yeah, I was like, I'm trying to think there's so much men have estrogen too and they need it. Oh dum dum dum. See, this is why you should see this podcast.

SPEAKER_03 15:13

Mm-hmm. I might have hit on a topic.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

She did.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

Now, what's next for you, Brenda, besides taste on March 18th? And I don't know when this will air, but taste is five times a year. Uh taste the show, Instagram. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Um, the next big thing is pull fitness to donor.

SPEAKER_03 15:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

She's all is it? This is really the first time we're kind of talking about it, I think, out loud.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Yeah, we haven't said the words out loud. It's been on a voice memo and a texty poo.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

So I do, I we're gonna start with retreats. Um, again, and maybe that's just why I was crying earlier, just because I'm so passionate about it. I just, again, I just really feel everyone should figure out what makes them happy. We know that we've got one shot in this world, as far as we know, anyway. Um, make it make it exactly how you want it. Um, so I I that's a part of the retreats is coming out there, seeing that you can step outside your comfort zone and be successful, talking about those gratitude journals. Everyone will get one, um, talking about nutrition, going on hikes, having meditation, um, that kind of thing. Just a space where everyone can get together and decompress, but also at the same time push themselves again out of that comfort zone to where we're not just going in and going, oh, I came and I went woo-woo and I rested. I want you to go, oh, I came, I woo-woo, and I got rested and I came home. Um, and look at this amazing thing that I learned with these amazing things that I learned.

SPEAKER_03 16:34

So I love that. How many people can go on a retreat at one time? Do you envision? I do.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

I envisioned. So I would love eventually to be where we can book out ahead to where it can be anywhere from you can book it from four people if you just want to make it an intimate thing or a group setting where you and a friend can come in with other people. So that would be anywhere from you know eight to ten people. But I do want to keep them smaller and a little bit more intimate because the goal is eventually to open up a full fitness studio in Sedona um after the retreats are very successful. I love it. So that way it just continues to grow the amazing thing in you. And then thank you for trusting me, especially with that name. It's gonna make me cry again. I need a nap. I'll clear my throat for you. Right. So um, for anybody that doesn't know, Fanya is my quote unquote wifey. She's she's my best friend. Um, done so much for me and so much for our community. And so when I went to Sedona on a trip and I came back and I said this to her, and she walked out of the out of the front desk closet and she goes, pull fitness Sedona. And I went, Well, yeah. And it just has kind of snowballed from there. And I and I do she changed my life. And I, and again, I think she's changed so many. Um, to get up and to again feel elated. Damn it, I'm gonna cry again, to feel so elated to get to love your life. I would have never ever known that that wasn't for you. Make me cry. Yeah, we're doing terrible. Jeez. But um, but and and again, to to know that feeling, I can't not pay it forward. So thank you for trusting me to do what you've done for me to to allow to do that opportunity due to others.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

And we are just beginning, I feel like.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

Yeah, and we are all truly the first generation of pole dancers. People always say, You're the first. And I'm like, you know what? We are all the first generation of pole dancers. Yeah. So without any crying, Brenda, thank you for being here today. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 18:27

I'm everyone, just go take a nap and then get up and write in your gratitude journal and we'll forget this ever happened.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

And if you're over 40, if you're over 40, meet us in about three or four minutes. We are gonna be shooting a video for people over 40. That poll dance here at Pull Fitness Studio.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Oh, can I say something to that too?

SPEAKER_03 18:42

Yes, you may.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

So there was like a hundred bazillion bazillions of um views on that post for the 40 plus post um that we we had just recently did. And I have to say, poll community. Wow. The I think what's oh, a thousand or more comments. Yeah, not one.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Almost 300,000 views.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Yeah, it's crazy. But not one, not one negative comment. Yeah. That is that is a community that should should really be heard that speaks volumes. This is freedom, this is empowerment. This is people who I don't know who you are. I don't even speak your language, but I'm here reading for you. That is Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:22

If anyone had something to say, they knew not to enter that room.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

Oh no, no. But I but I almost feel like there there wasn't there was so much ammo that anyone could have said anything, but the the people that could have didn't.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

And not even, I don't even think I think it's honestly because there is so much love. There is so much love and whatever they may have thought if there was anything, they would change their mind. Yeah, they would like, oh I better not say anything. That's gonna make me look dumb.

SPEAKER_03 19:48

Yeah, I've just got to go take a class. So whether you're male, female, or from another planet, it's highly recommended to.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Thank you, poll community and dancers, for for being rock stars to each other.

SPEAKER_03 19:58

Absolutely. It wasn't always this. It wasn't. So we are gonna sign off here. So please um like and follow, subscribe. Apparently, that's a popular word, and share this with your friends. We'd love to see you on the next between two polls.

unknown 20:15

Bye.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

Like everyone, everyone eats breakfast.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

You should be. It's called break your fast. It's my favorite thing when I'm like saying you don't eat breakfast. Everyone eats breakfast. Everyone does sooner or later. You're gonna break your fast.