Show & Tell: Meet Meagen Hensley of ‘Sirens’

Q: You're a "siren." Do people even know what that means?

A: You know, you have to explain it. Usually, what people say is, "What show are you in?" and you say, "Sirens of TI," and then you have to explain, "The pirate show." People know "pirate." They're more familiar with that word. Then, they love to hear what a siren is, and it makes sense when you see the show: luring in the guys ...

Q: It's a pretty athletic show.

A: I was with the "Show in the Sky" (at the Rio) ... and I was an aerialist at Rumjungle; then I did Siegfried & Roy until it closed. Then I was at Studio 54 for two years before I got into "Sirens."

Q: You were an aerialist?

A: When I was growing up, I was a tumbler and a dancer and all that. In college, I was a cheerleader. I did flying and stunting and things like that.

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: I was born in Anaconda, Mont.

Q: Are there giant snakes in Montana?

A: It's from the Anaconda Copper Company. I grew up in a mining town. It's a small town.

Q: How did your parents feel about your coming to Las Vegas to be a professional dancer?

A: They moved me down here. I have a huge family, so I had a caravan of cars driving down. They moved me down here, and a producer who had actually convinced me to come down sat down to dinner with them. She assured them she was going to take good care of me and I'd finish (college). And I did finish school. I moved down in June and didn't get in a show until August. But they came down following the move, and now they love it.

Q: What were they worried about?

A: I just think my dad was afraid some old rich man was going to take me away. And my mother, she was afraid I wouldn't finish school and that I didn't know anything about the big city, let alone Las Vegas.

Q: "Sirens" sounds like a different sort of show than the other ones you've worked in.

A: It's fun. It's the age-old battle, men versus women. We get a giant audience four times a night, so, obviously, other people think it's pretty cool, too. And we have the pyro, and it's not just dancers and singers. And we have the stuntmen. They do the high dives.

Q: Do you ever watch the audience while they're watching you?

A: We can definitely look out into the audience and see them more than they realize. It's fun. We always (see) who has the brightest shirt in the audience.

Q: You perform outside, so is hot weather or colder weather more uncomfortable?

A: It depends on who you ask. For me, I think, just growing up in Montana and in the cold, I hate the heat. I hate the dead of summer. I feel like melting.

Q: At least sirens don't have to be in the water.

A: We still get wet because we have to dance with them. But we're not as drenched as they are.