We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Meggie ‘fig’ Copeland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Meggie ‘Fig’, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
When attending Sass N Strut dance classes in 2019, I could’ve never imagined I’d be opening up our very own studio space with creator, Serese Brown, just three years later. Having spent my time working professionally in dance clubs around Austin since 2018, and performing burlesque professionally with Brown Burlesque since 2019, I was looking to deepen my relationship with dance. In 2021 I created my own class and teaching style in a class called Slink & Strength- a two hour weekly deep dive into mobility, strength training, and sensual dance movement. I wanted anyone and everyone to feel comfortable in their body, but not only that, I wanted them to know how strong sexy is— and how accessible that can be! I brought Slink & Strength to Sass N Strut as an instructor that same year. At the time we were a mobile dance space looking for something more permanent. A year later Serese and I had an offer come our way that seemed.. well crazy, a space of our own. Crazy, and to be honest expensive ha, but doable with our strong community and passion on our side. We took the leap. We signed a lease. We renovated. We danced. We laughed. Joyful as it was, it was tough. Austin brags about being a town for entrepreneurs, but for small businesses, it is a daily push, pull, and rodeo to make it work. In this home space we hosted, dance classes, moon rituals, performance showcase, burlesque shows, and community. Within our two years in this home space our air conditioner crashed and needed a months worth of work in the hottest months in Texas. Our roof caved in leaving us out of service for another month a year later. We consistently found our floors wet from leaking ceilings. Our risk was… adding up. At the end of the summer in 2024 with the looks of a hefty rent increase and a still leaking roof. We made the very tough and devastating call to close the doors of our first home. We’re now back to where we started. Free to roam Austin and all the rentable spaces available to us. We learned countless lessons. We now know the pros and cons of both having a door to walk in whenever we want, and being a mobile dance community playing the fields of Austin’s forever changing landscape. The joy that space brought us, the countless memories, and the many trials we faced have prepared us and charged us up for whatever is next for our small business. Sass N Strut will go on teaching burlesque, strength, and dance to whoever will join us, wherever we land. And I know that all we have done up until this point has us ready and willing for what’s to come. I feel like there is risk in any venture, and risk I am happy to take to share our journey with whomever will see us. Sass N Strut was a safe space for me before and after I joined our management team and instructor roster, and it will continue to be that and so much more for myself and hopefully countless people to join us in the future. I’d say, being ourselves and living our truth as confident, strippin, women is the riskiest of them all. Especially in a time such as these. But we’ll dance through it all and enjoy the stage — wherever it leads.
Meggie ‘Fig’, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a lifelong dancer, turned stripper, turned dance instructor, turned professional burlesque performer , who now co producers, directs, stars in my own shows and events. Since 2022 I co-own Sass N Strut Studios with Serese Brown. A dance space dedicated to discovery, strength, and inclusivity. We are best known for our creative burlesque classes, sensual strength based instruction, and our performance series offerings. We specialize in classic and neo-burlesque, fusing the old with the new in our in-depth teaching styles. Serese and I have almost 20 years of burlesque experience between the two of us, and we love to share that with Austin, and beyond.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
One of my favorite ventures has been a show called “Uncovered” : An evening of covered classics meets uncovered fantasies. An intimate hour of live, sultry melodies and Austin’s finest Burlesque babes.
This show is a whole event. It’s very important to me that my shows feature a wide range of talent and scenery. Groups acts are a must. Which means, more rehearsals, personally choreographing each act, and more coordination on top of also producing and running the whole show. What makes this show particularly challenging is each act is performed to a live group of musicians. The show features live covers of the performers favorite songs, but done in a completely unique way. I believe that this not only showcases my range of expertise, but also each dancer’s as well. This show requires the performers to be mailable, play on their toes, and to be open to whatever these obstacles throw at them.
Because of Uncovered demanding costs and time, I’m not able to produce it as often as I’d like, but it’s a goal of mine to make it happen and accessible to the Austin area very soon!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met Serese Brown in 2019 when attending my first Sass N Strut class that January. I had seen Serese online beforehand and I was eager to learn from her. Serese is warm and inviting, with a passion to share her knowledge with others in an easy and accessible manner. I was instantly drawn to her and her team of talented instructors. I continued attending classes, and wanted to get more involved within the company – later that year I stepped on to help with social media. In October of 2019 I taught my first class alongside Serese, and in the same month she brought me on to my first professional Burlesque gig. I’ve been along for the ride ever since. Over the years we both expressed wanting to own our own space and we just fell into deeper commitments with each other organically. I now co-producer Brown Burlesque shows and so much alongside her, as well as run our mobile studio together. There is no better partner out there. My favorite companion on and off the stage.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Sassnstrut.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/figgie_puddin?igsh=ZnRxY3dxbzAxYjMx&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/sassnstrut?igsh=eDI3d2Z5NHM0MDdq&utm_source=qr
- Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/brownburlesque?igsh=MTRsdnIyOXZwZGxmZQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Nathelie Ashby