bendy beast fitness is memphis and the mid-south area's premier pole dancing and pole fitness community.
Our diverse instructors teach self love and self care through movement arts to all types of people throughout Memphis and the Mid-South.
We are a safe space for all body types, genders, ages, races, religions, sexual orientations, and ability levels. Whoever you are and wherever you're at on your fitness and wellness journey, we pride ourselves on accepting and supporting everyone.
we're so much fun, you won't realize how hard you're working out.
We are currently running all classes at our Downtown location, 417 S. Main St. #103, Memphis TN, 38103 next to the Blues Hall of Fame.
Beginning October 1st, 2022, we will be running all classes at our Midtown location, 1202 Minna Place, Memphis TN, 38104, next to the corner of Lamar & Bellevue.We will still hold Private Lessons and Parties at the Downtown location, by appointment.
LATEST UPDATES
Follow us on Instagram for the most up-to-date studio news: @bendybeastfitness
EVENTS
Midtown Studio Grand Opening
We are officially opening up our new Midtown location this Saturday, October 1st! Come visit us at 1202 Minna Place, Memphis TN 38104
Facebook event here. Sign up for free classes here.
💙 Aerial Yoga Level 1 (30 min)
11:30AM-12:00PM
Learn to use the aerial hammock to stretch, bend and lengthen. No experience needed, open to all levels
💙 Aerial Hoop Level 1 (30 Min)12:30-1:00PM
Begin to get off the ground and fly in the aerial hoop (also called Lyra). No experience needed, open to all levels
💙 Pole Level 1 (30 Min)1:30-2:00PM
Learn to relate to the pole and build strength, agility and grace. No experience needed, open to all levels
💙 Heels Level 1 (30 Min)2:30-3:00PM
We will teach you a slinky dance flow and discuss what type of shoes to use for pole, and how to use them best. No experience needed, open to all levels. Bring pole heels if you have them, otherwise socks
💙 Open Studio Jam (2 hrs)3:30-5:30PM
Come practice the skills you know, and skill share with your friends! We’ll have the poles, hoops and hammocks out to play on. An instructor will be on hand to check safety, but there will be no instruction - come to our free classes earlier in the day if you’d like a guided class.
💙 PARTYYY!
Come on out from 8-11pm to celebrate the new space. Featuring performers throughout the night! Ages 21+, alcohol will be served.CLASS SCHEDULE
September 2022 Class Schedule
All classes are 6 students max, and must be booked in advance. Sign up here. Read class descriptions here.
- Mondays, 5:30-6:30pm, Flexibility Training with Liz
- Mondays, 7:00-8:00pm, Pole Level 1 & 2 with Liz
- Tuesdays, 10:30-11:00am, Community Meditation with Liz ($5)
- Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30pm, Pole Level 1 & 2 with Liz
- Tuesdays, 7:00-8:00pm, Pole Conditioning with Marcy
- Wednesdays, 10:30-11:00am, Community Yoga with Liz ($5)
- Wednesdays, 5:30-6:30pm, Heels Flow with Danielle
- Wednesdays, 7:00-8:00pm, Pole Level 3 & 4 with Danielle
- Thursdays, 10:30-11:00am, Community Meditation with Liz ($5)
- Thursdays, 5:30-6:30pm, Pole Level 1 & 2 with Tori / Liz (Alternating weeks)
- Thursdays, 7:00-8:00pm, Freestyle Pole with Liz
- Fridays, 5:30-6:30pm, Twerk Level 1 with Shay
- Saturdays, 11:30am-12:30pm, Pole Level 1 with Liz
- Saturdays, 1:00-2:00pm, Pole Level 2 & 3 with Tori / Liz (Alternating weeks)
- Saturdays, 2:30-3:30pm, Open Studio (Practice time, no instruction)
- Sundays, 11:30am-12:30pm, Pole Level 1 with Danielle
- Sundays, 1:00-2:00pm, Pole Level 2 & 3 with Danielle
- Sundays, 2:30-3:30pm, Aerial Hoop Level 1 with Liz
October 2022 Class Schedule
All classes are 12 students max, and must be booked in advance. Sign up here. Read class descriptions here.
MONDAYS
- 5:30-6:30pm, Bendy Flexibility with Liz
- 7:00-8:00pm, Pole Level 1 & 2 with Liz
TUESDAYS- 10:30-11:00am, Community Meditation with Liz ($5)
- 11:30am-12:30pm, Bendy Flexibility with Liz
- 5:30-6:30pm, Pole Level 1 & 2 with Liz
- 7:00-8:00pm, Beastly Strength with Marcy
WEDNESDAYS- 10:30-11:00am, Community Yoga with Liz ($5)
- 11:30am-12:30pm, Pole Level 1 & 2 with Liz
- 5:30-6:30pm, Heels Flow with Danielle
- 7:00-8:00pm, Pole Level 3 & 4 with Danielle
THURSDAYS- 10:30-11:00am, Community Meditation with Liz ($5)
- 11:30am-12:30pm, Beastly Strength with Liz
- 5:30-6:30pm, Pole Level 1 & 2 with Tori / Liz (Alternating weeks)
- 7:00-8:00pm, Community Circle with Liz
FRIDAYS- 5:30-6:30pm, Twerk Level 1with Shay
SATURDAYS- 11:30am-12:30pm, Pole Level 1 with Liz
- 1:00-2:00pm, Pole Level 2 & 3 with Tori / Liz (Alternating weeks)
- 2:30-3:30pm, Open Studio (Practice time, no instruction)
- 4:00-5:00pm, Aerial Yoga with Liz
SUNDAYS- 11:30am-12:30pm, Pole Level 1 with Danielle
- 1:00-2:00pm, Pole Level 2 & 3 with Danielle
- 2:30-3:30pm, Aerial Hoop Level 1 with Liz
- 4:00-5:00pm, Aerial Hoop Level 2 with Liz
why pole dancing?
Most gyms and fitness professionals tell you to change your body so you can love it. In our experience, that's bullshit, and leaves people constantly at war with their body image.
We believe that you can learn to love your body first, exactly as it is, for all that it does, and then choose to make healthy and lasting changes. At the heart of the pole community is a mindset of self love without shame.
CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
Community Meditation
Join us for a 30-minute guided meditation to train and calm your mind. Community classes are just $5.
What you need:
No experience needed.
Community Yoga
Join us for 30-minute all-levels yoga flow to restore and energize your mind, body and soul. Community classes are just $5.
What you need:
No experience needed.
Bendy Flexibility
Let's get bendy and flexy! Increase your flexibility and mobility, especially stretching towards splits and bridges. We will do a full-body warm-up, and then go deeper into hamstrings, hip flexors, shoulders, and back. We'll help move through any muscle soreness and stiffness and get you feeling your best self, so you can move through the world with ease and make all the shapes you dream of on the pole.
What you need:
No experience needed, open to all levels.
Aerial Hoop (Lyra) Level 1
Welcome to your aerial journey! Our focus is on learning to build strength for an aerialist body, and beginning to get off the ground and fly in the aerial hoop (also called Lyra).
What you need:
No experience needed, open to all levels.
Aerial Hoop (Lyra) Level 2
This is for students that have already begun to fly! Our focus is on building a combination of tricks in the aerial hoop, and learning to dance your aerial flow.
What you need:
Comfortably hanging from both the bottom and the top bar
Aerial Yoga
Learn to use the aerial hammock to stretch, bend and lengthen. This class teaches a series of yoga poses using the hammock, which will help aid and support your practice. Aerial yoga will leave you feeing calm, restored and refreshed. This class is especially good for injury prevention and injury rehab for pole dancers and aerialists.
What you need:
None, open to all levels
Pole Level 1
Welcome to your pole journey! Get ready to transform the way you see your body and the way you move through the world. Our focus is on learning to relate to the pole, and building strength, grace and agility.
What you need:
No experience needed, open to all levels.
Pole Level 2
Congratulations, you've leveled up! This class is for the returning poler who is looking to grow their skills. Our focus is on learning to climb the pole, flow different tricks together, and carry yourself with confidence.
What you need:
Pole walk, basic spins, one climb up the pole.
Pole Level 3
Whip your hair and fly -- you've taken flight! This class is for students who are comfortably climbing and are ready to turn their world upside-down. We'll learn the art of safely going upside-down on the pole. We'll continue polishing the skills you know, stringing tricks together into flows, and mentally challenging yourself to bring confidence and grace to any situation.
What you need:
Comfortable climbing up the pole, solid pole crunches (leg lifts) from the ground, solid pole sit, jasmine and genie from the ground.
Pole Level 4
You are airborne! Now that you know how to fly, we're going to have even more fun with it and make it as fabulous as possible. We'll learn a variety of tricks and shapes, string them together into unexpected combinations, and continue working on bringing your signature style and flair to everything you do.
What you need:
Comfortable climbing up the pole, solid invert (chopper) from the ground, solid pole sit, jasmine and genie from up the pole.
Beastly Strength
Let's get strong! This class focuses fully on mat-based bodyweight strength training. We will have you doing drills, drills, and more drills to get the muscles you need to nail your tricks and dance flows if you’re a pole person, or simply to keep your body happy, healthy and strong if you’re not. Unleash your beast!
What you need:
No experience needed, open to all levels.
Heels Flow
Heels add a whole new art and skill set to your movement, and we're going to teach you how to best use them to your advantage. We'll work on presenting your legs and feet while dancing to show off the shoes, as well as building the strength in your feet, calves, and hips to move in stilettos with confidence. We recommend wearing Pleasers or other shoes specifically meant for pole, however for your first few classes you may wear street shoes or work flat-footed in socks for gliding.
What you need:
Pole Level 2+, bring your shoes! Pleaser brand or other style specifically meant for pole is highly recommended.
Twerk Level 1
No experience need! Learn how to put your booty in motion in our Twerk classes. You'll learn pops, claps, shakes and more in this hour long class that will get you laughing, dancing, sweating, and loving your body.
What you need:
We recommend wearing something you can see your booty jiggle in! Very short shorts, loose shorts or loose pants are best.
Twerk Level 2
For those who already have twerk and/or dance experience, and are ready to step up the game. Learn how to put your booty in motion in our Twerk classes. You'll learn pops, claps, shakes and more in this hour long class that will get you laughing, dancing, sweating, and loving your body.
What you need:
We recommend wearing something you can see your booty jiggle in! Very short shorts, loose shorts or loose pants are best.
Open Studio
Our open studio hour is only $15 and is here for you to use any of the equipment and work on anything you'd like to practice. There will be no instruction, though an instructor will be in the studio to make sure everything is safe. Come out and practice and play!
What you need:
Prior classes recommended - this studio time has no instruction.
Studio Rentals
The studio is available for hourly rentals ($44/hr) for practice space - contact us to book your spot. We can provide pole, hoop, or hammock equipment, or an open dance floor.
Private Lessons
The studio is also available for private lessons with our instructors ($88/hr for the first 1 or 2 people, and an additional $22/person for groups larger than 2). Contact us to book your spot.
Parties!
Yes, we do parties! Pole parties are our most popular - for Birthdays, Bachelorette's or Girls Night Out groups. We are happy to host a party for any reason, and can also offer Aerial/circus parties with the hoops and hammocks.
Our Midtown location can host parties up to 18 people, and our Downtown location can host parties up to 8 people. Parties are an hour long and include instruction, as well as time for photos. A $99 deposit holds your spot, and an additional $22/person attending is due the day of the party. Contact us to book your spot.
are you ready to start your journey?
Pole dancing will increase your strength, grace, agility, and coordination, and teach you do things with your body that you never thought possible.
This new-found respect and love for all that your body can do may deepen into a discipline and commitment to self-care that ripples through all parts of your life. You may find yourself changing the way you exercise and eat, and even how you treat work and relationships.
OUR INSTRUCTORS
Danielle Pierce
Danielle Jenice Pierce is an award-winning competitive dancer with more than 15 years of training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop and Modern. Danielle started taking Pole Fitness classes in 2010 at Eccentric Fitness and fell in love with Pole. Since then she has taught at 3 Pole studios and over 100 Pole parties spreading love, building strong minds and bodies, while having fun. She’s excited to be a part of Bendy Beast Fitness.
Liz Kinnmark
Liz Kinnmark is the founder and owner of Bendy Beast Fitness. She loves sharing her passion for movement and teaching people to love their bodies. Whoever you are and wherever you're at on your fitness journey, our gyms support everyone. We believe that the path to health & wellness is not about changing your body and wanting it to be different. Instead, through movement classes, we teach you to love your body just the way it is, and the ripple effects from that mental change are enormous. You will watch your body change in a healthy way, your attitude change, your relationships change, and the way you move through the whole world change.
Marcy Merritt
Marcy is a badass dancer & instructor with 17 years of competitive gymnastics experience, 7 years of coaching gymnastics, and 4 years of pole dancing. She teaches our Pole Conditioning class to help you increase strength and endurance in all your muscle groups. In addition to all her skills in the air, she’s an aspiring dental student and a proud rescue dog mom.
Nai X
Nai is an X-Pert certified pole instructor in Levels 1 & 2, as well as Liquid Motion certified! She started her pole journey in February 2020 and it has been her life since. Prior to pole she worked as a personal trainer for 3 years. She loves how pole redirects you back to yourself, and the community and relationships that are built with amazing people from different phases of life. Her intention with teaching is to show what the mind can do when you choose yourself. You’ll learn to be safe and strong, while having fun doing it!
Tori Baker
Tori has been pole dancing for nearly 8 years. Their inspiration comes from a mixed history of aerial arts, cheerleading, and striptease performance. Pole is their favorite medium to perform because they love the challenge of weaving strength, poise, and sensuality into an art. Pole has been a wonderful creative and physical journey for them so far, and they are so excited to pass down what they have learned!
Shay Cummings
In addition to being an amazing twerker and dancer, Shay is a realtor, notary agent. sells cars and insurance, and breeds dogs. She has a background in majorette, which brings an extra fun flair to her choreo. get in here Tuesday nights and shake that 🍑🍑🍑.
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Bendy Beast Fitness © 2022
By appointment only:
417 S. Main St. #103
Memphis, TN 38103
hey@bendybeast.com
+1 (917) 843-6161