Show & Tell: Meet Cheryl Guerpo of The Party Pit

Q: When did you get into dance?

A: I'd say when I was about 5. Polynesian dancing is very popular in Hawaii - the hula especially - and I started doing that. You know how (other dancers) start with ballet? I did hula.

Q: Whose idea was that?

A: (Laughs) My parents, of course.

Q: Here on the mainland, we see so much cliched Polynesian dancing. Is it different there?

A: It's very different. It's a more traditional hula. You dance in the outdoors, like in nature, not in a studio.

Q: Did you take to it immediately?

A: I didn't. At first, it was, "I've gotta go practice again." But it just grows on you. You learn to love the art form of it.

Q: Then what?

A: Around 9 or 10, I did both, but then I moved away from hula and more into street dancing.

Q: How did you discover that?

A: My brothers do it and they got me into it, like, "Why don't you try this?" I just started to learn a few moves and I loved it.

Q: What brought you to Las Vegas?

A: My brother moved out here. He said, "You should try to come out here and see what it's like. The dance scene is really big out here." So I started breaking here with him.

Q: But you were still dancing mostly for fun. How did you turn professional?

A: A girlfriend I knew through my brother said they were looking for dancers at Tao and said, "You should go." I auditioned and got the job, and that was my first go-go job.

Q: Was it difficult to transition from the free-form style of street dance into something more structured?

A: Not at all. It's (using) more, I guess, the sexy side to you, because breaking's more tough. So I had to kind of break out of that and soften up the moves a bit.

Q: Now you dance at Luxor's Party Pit. What's that like?

A: My job is basically to entertain the people. Basically, they're gambling ... and I'm rooting them on. There's kind of a catwalk between a row of blackjack tables, so we're on the catwalk.

Q: Do you ever get guys who are so focused on their gambling that they tell you to go away?

A: Yeah. (Laughs) They get distracted.

Q: That's just sad.

A: Sometimes they just stare - "Oh, it's my turn." It's quite funny, actually.