Francesca Balagtas, aka Sassi Fran, was born in San Francisco but raised in Las Vegas. She started dancing at the age of 4 doing tap and ballet. Throughout childhood and adolescence she added in other styles such as jazz, hip hop, street jazz, Hula, Tahitian, and Maori. At the age of 18, Fran moved back to her birthplace of San Francisco to study art in a BFA program for sculpture at San Francisco Art Institute. Although her studies were in visual arts, she always hungered for dance. She began dancing with many dance groups in San Francisco such as Bay Area Flash Mob, Sexitude, and Bay Area Dancers. After graduating from SFAI, she co-foundered K-Pop-Up (a Kpop dance class and group in SF) and started doing drag. Sassi Fran incorporates k-pop and own choreography into many of her drag performances. Sassi also hosts a semi-annual Queer K-pop Dance Party/drag show to continue spreading the joys of k-pop music, dance, and drag.