Meet Jocelyn Martinez of Studio City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jocelyn Martinez.

Hi Jocelyn , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started dancing when I was 4 years old! My mom put me into dance, starting with tap and ballet—the basics. I did sports too when I was younger, and I really loved basketball and softball, but there was a time when I transitioned from recreational dance to joining the competition dance team at my local dance studio, For Dancers Only. So one day, my mom sat me down and told me it was time to pick one, since I wouldn’t have the time to pursue both with full commitment. I was actually pretty torn between the two, but I ended up choosing to pursue competitive dance and it’s been a wrap ever since!

So at about 7 years old, I began to train with the competitive team, which led to a huge increase in the hours and styles I was training in. I went from 2 classes per week to taking jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, contemporary, modern, acrobatics, and on top of that, we had rehearsals on the weekend to practice and perfect our dances that we competed throughout the year with other dance studios. I loved it. It was essentially my whole entire life until I was 18 years old.

I remember going to school everyday and the kids at school asking me how in the world I could do something so often, and I remember telling them that I just loved it. It became the foundation to every skill that would keep me going in life—discipline, grit, determination, perseverance, friendships, collaboration, courage, commitment, true love, and so much more. To this day, I get chills thinking about how I truly wouldn’t be the person I am today without this beautiful craft.

During my years as a competitive dancer, one of my dance teachers, Kristen Gorski, knew of a choreographer who was holding auditions for a professional dance job in NYC. Since my dance studio was located in northern New Jersey, we were just about a 30 minute drive into the city, so a few of us decided to go, and I actually ended up booking the job! My grandpa, who was working from home at the time because he was still recovering from his knee surgery, would drive me into the city every day for rehearsal and wait for me to drive me home.

We even got to perform at Radio City Music Hall for the job—we were background dancers for these performers on America’s Got Talent, and I just remember thinking to myself, I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but this is what I want to do when I’m an adult. I was just 14 years old at the time and never really thought about pursuing dance professionally—I actually wanted to be an astronaut until I watched the movie with Sandra Bullock where she gets lost in space haha.

I just remember how electric the energy felt. Every single day was totally different! So many different people moving around, handling the cameras, dancers and performers practicing their steps—the atmosphere was dynamic and undeniable. Then, about 2 years later, I was 16 years old, so I was finally old enough to audition for Clear Talent Group, which is actually my agency now haha—this was back when they used to have in person auditions, and I even made it to the call back. However, I had rehearsal back in NJ for my competitive team, and one thing my mom and grandparents always taught me was to stay committed and finish any commitment you start.

Therefore, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish that audition, but what it did give me was the courage that I could do it. So fast forward to 18 year old me, and now I am graduating high school and headed off to college. I originally went to Fordham University because I got a full ride scholarship (I was pretty psychotic with school work thanks to the discipline that dance gave me), and it was perfect because they had a very small campus on the Upper West Side. I figured it was perfect because I would get to go to dance classes whenever I wanted, and I was only a bus ride away from home.

Little did I know, I would get the worst and first anxiety attacks I’ve ever experienced, so after one semester, I decided to go back to New Jersey, and to be honest, it was good timing because that’s exactly when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and shut everything down. Little did I know that would be the thing that actually jump started my focus to really pursuing the professional dance career that I had been dreaming of.

Since I was able to continue school with Montclair State University, they were very modern and great with transitioning to online learning, so I would get my work done and for the rest of the days, I set up a dance schedule for myself just like the one I used to have at my competitive dance school. I would practice stretching, do drills, and learn choreography from online videos. I was even able to take live zoom classes from studios in NYC like Broadway Dance Center, Brickhouse, and Steps. Luckily, they started easing restrictions, and I was able to take dance classes in the city again, so that’s when I started commuting in and out to train with teachers and choreographers in person.

With all of the downtime during the pandemic, I was able to really focus on taking headshots, creating a dance reel, and putting a resume together in order to submit to different dance agencies online. I was able to actually get signed to my first dance agency, Movement Talent Agency, and even my first modeling agency as well, Wilhelmina, during the pandemic. As restrictions started easing up even more, teachers who were mainly teaching out in Los Angeles, were able to start traveling back to NYC to teach, which allowed me to train with Galen Hooks at her GHM (Galen Hooks Method) intensive and Tia Rivera at her BTB (Breakthrough Bootcamp) intensive.

Both of these were true life changers for me, as they really equipped me with true industry knowledge not just about dance but about the business of dance and the industry, that I never got the chance to learn yet. This allowed me to approach auditions with strategy and intention, and I actually was able to book my first big job as an adult while I was still finishing college! I ended up booking Mariah Carey’s Christmas Tour thanks to Bryan Tanaka and their team taking a chance on me, and it was just the best experience. I literally remember traveling to Pennsylvania for production rehearsals, and them being so kind to let me leave rehearsal for 15 minutes to make my final presentation for one of my college courses. I wish I could remember my professors name too because she was so incredibly kind to let me present and then leave the class so that I could get back to rehearsal. I just remember thinking how addicted I was to that dynamic energy. It was so cool that I really was able to do it all—that experience showed me that the only limits we truly have are the ones we create.

So fast forward, I had done a few more jobs in NYC throughout my college career, including modeling for Capezio Dancewear, which really sparked my love for the craft of modeling. However, I always knew that I wanted to move to Los Angeles as soon as I graduated, and luckily I was still living at home, so I was blessed enough to be able to save a good chunk of all the money I was making from these jobs. I saved about 20k by the end of my college career, and moved out to Los Angeles 5 months after I graduated!

October 2023 was the month I moved, and the month my whole life changed forever. I remember thinking how this was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life, and from then on, it’s been a ride of extreme personal development like I’ve never felt before. I remember I kept saying during my first year out in Los Angeles, it felt like I had died and rebirthed as a new person like 20 different times because of the extreme personal development that pursuing this career and moving across the country put me through. I would never change a thing, and I am so incredibly grateful for all of the dancers, creatives, choreographers, teachers, and humans out here in LA who took a chance on me, who helped guide me, and who saw something in me when I didn’t necessarily see it in myself yet. 2 & 1/2 years later, I’ve gotten to dance for artists like Chris Brown, Sabrina Carpenter, Cher, and more, and even more importantly, whether I never book a job for the rest of my life, I realize that dance as a craft and a blessing will never ever leave my side, and it quite literally is the only thing that has always been there for me and always will be in many life times to come.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oof…lol of course not! Haha. The struggles started as a child for me. As a young dancer, I would say my body size was a little bigger than most of the girls in my dance studio. The culture of dance, especially competitive dancing, was not the healthiest when it came to body size, and I was also a child who didn’t really know better. I remember being put in the “B” group as a child because truthfully I wasn’t really as skilled as the other girls yet—I was naturally not really flexible and didn’t have super great technique. But one thing I did have was passion, discipline, and work ethic, which I later learned was the only thing I needed to make my dreams happen.

However, when I was 12 years old, I suffered from an eating disorder. I was too young at the time, so I assumed that I wasn’t in the “A” group because my body size didn’t fit in with the other girls. Now, that was definitely part of the reason, and those teachers are not at the studio anymore, but some comments were made here and there about body size—however, I’ve went through the process of forgiving and understanding these people because unfortunately that was and still is the culture of competitive dance, and honestly I realize now that they were probably struggling just as much as I was.

So I assumed that if I could get my body to look like the other girls that I would be able to dance in the group with them. That’s when I first started to just eat healthier—fruits, veggies, nothing that was too extreme yet. But before I knew it, this thing had grown itself into full blown anorexia. I was starving myself, and my beautiful mom and family at home began to notice quickly. I’m so thankful they took the strict action that they did (even though I hated it at the time lol) because I probably wouldn’t be here today if they didn’t. I did this thing where I would pretend to make sandwiches but put nothing on it so that I wouldn’t feel guilty throwing it out at lunch. I even remember some of my school friends at the time catching on and being disappointed in me when I would throw out my lunch. It honestly felt good that they cared, and I was thankful for them as well.

Fast forward, one day my mom caught me making my fake sandwich with nothing on it, and we had a serious talk. I really knew I had a problem when she tried forcing me to eat a yogurt or else she wasn’t letting me go to school, and I literally threw a tantrum because I didn’t want to eat the yogurt since it wasn’t in my caloric intake plan. That’s when I knew I had an issue. So my mom took me to my pediatrician—Dr.Pepe (the best—I hope he’s doing well)! He was my pediatrician for my whole life and a fantastic one at that. He weighed me, and at 5’4” I was only 99lbs. That was enough for me to immediately be admitted into the hospital because I technically could have a heart attack at any moment, especially if I was dancing.

I ended up being admitted and stayed in the hospital for a week. I was so lucky and blessed to have my mom sleep there with me every night, as well my grandma (Patricia VanderBrink), grandpa (Rodger VanderBrink), my mom’s sister (Jennifer VanderBrink), and her wife (Melanie VanderBrink) who visited me consistently. At just 12 years old, I couldn’t believe I was sitting in a hospital bed, being forced to eat, being watched by hospital staff, being weighed every day, and I just remember crying myself to sleep every night just wanting to go back to school and dance class with my friends.

Even though this was a traumatic time in my life, it truly shaped me into who I am today. It showed me that if I could be disciplined and determined enough to starve myself, I could be disciplined and determined enough to recover and quite literally do anything else I set my mind to. It also showed me how much of a savior dance really was to me. At 12 years old, I didn’t have much that motivated me to beat that nasty voice in my head, but I did have dance. And I would do anything and everything to keep that in my life. It sounds cheesy, but dance quite literally was the only reason I had the strength to recover.

I ended up having a 10 year battle back and forth with this disorder until I was about 21 years old. I did physically recover after my hospital stay; however, I slipped back into my eating disorder habits from the age of 14-20. It was when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, that I was able to fully recover again, and not have such an extreme attachment to food and exercise.

Now, once I moved out to Los Angeles, my eating was okay, but little did I know, I was in for the craziest ride of my life. Being 3,000 miles away from my grandparents who helped raise me, my aunts who I grew up with, my high school sweetheart at the time, my close friends, and my half-sister, was such a big transition for me, especially all the way across the country. I was grateful to have my mom out here in Los Angeles, but it was still such an extreme life change for me. I felt very alone and was kind of just doing my best to figure things out as I went along like everyone else out here.

The life of a professional dancer is not one of extreme ease and comfort. It’s audition after audition after audition, and consistent late nights of training. It’s finally working on jobs to realize you’re giving way more than what you’re being paid for most of the time. I remember working consistently and thinking how I am so exhausted and I’m still fighting to pay for what I need to pay for. But building a dance career is just like building a business, and I realized that these were the beginning years of my business, so despite the struggles, I knew that if I could be consistent and intentional, I could build something great and lucrative.

There’s been times where I’ve questioned my identity as an Afro-Latina, Dominican, mixed women with a curly afro in this industry manyyyyy times. However, I quickly realized that I didn’t have to live and work in an industry that’s been predetermined by the majority—I realized that I could truly experience anything I wanted to experience and that most of the limiting beliefs I was experiencing was because I was viewing them that way. I felt confused and hurt. However, I knew that I worked my butt off, and I knew that if I could just switch the narrative in my brain no matter what the circumstances were that were right in front of me, I could truly create any reality that I envisioned for myself.

I recently just went through another huge transition in the beginning of this year, ending a relationship with the only person I’ve ever been with, and that sent me into a huge spiral. I dug myself into a hole that I didn’t quite see out of. But again, I had dance. I’ve danced more in the past few months than I have in a while, and I’m so grateful for the craft, my spirit team, my mom, and my friends out here in Los Angeles who now feel like family for being so gracious, kind, and supportive.

Despite all of these things, I realize how essential they all were and continue to be to my expansion as a human being, a soul, and an artist. I realize now, that every time my heart breaks, it doesn’t eventually come back together—it stays open and it expands. Every heart break has only allowed me to increase the amount of love that I am able to feel and give… and that is the biggest blessing of all.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am mainly a professional dancer and model. I perform on projects that consist of live stage shows, like Coachella, artist shows, etc, as well as music videos, commercials, tv shows, film projects, and movies. As a model and commercial actress, I also model and act on commercials, print campaigns, and social media campaign videos! Since I’m a dancer, I obviously love to hit a cute walk on some heels, so I’d certainly love to walk in Miami Swim Week one year maybe! Outside of that career, I create my own TikTok videos where I share falls and breakthroughs of my own life and career, hoping to help other people along the way. Throughout my time sharing those videos, I’ve started to attract dancers of all levels who come to me for 1:1 coaching, where I focus on dance and career development through the lenses of mindset development and nervous system regulation. Because I create content on TikTok consistently, I also have brands that reach out consistently to have me create content for their social media, websites, and more. I found how helpful it was to have all of the work I pursue related to me being the “talent”, so I make sure to stay intentional with that because it allows me to consistently work on skills that are helpful to my modeling and dance careers. Within the first 6 months of living out here, I had booked a music video with Chris Brown, and that really gave me the confidence I needed that all of the work and training I was doing wasn’t in vein. Shoutout to Josh Smith and Lindsay Ducos (and Chris’ team) who took a chance on me when I really didn’t believe much in myself at the time. I remember thinking to myself that there’s no way I belonged there, but it forced me to show up and pull up. Another really cool project was dancing for Sabrina Carpenter at the Grammy’s. It was very musical theater based and we got to tap! I grew up heavily training in musical theater and tap from some of the best in NYC, so that movement really felt like home. Thanks to Jasmine Badie and Sabrina’s team for also taking a chance on me for the first time. To this day, one of my very favorite projects I worked on, which was my first official live stage performance since moving to Los Angeles, was performing Disney’s Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl. I remember walking into the room and literally not knowing anyone, since I was still so new here and barely left the house if it wasn’t for dance training lol. But they were the sweetest, most welcoming and talented group of people, and the choreography team, Jamal Sims, Kai Martinez, Reina Hidalgo, Asiel Hardison, and Will Bell, were a dream. They showed me that the room could have expectations of excellence without it being a room that was filled with fear.

In terms of modeling and commercial acting, I’ve done campaigns for IT COSMETICS, Bose, BeachBody x LeBron James, Capezio Dancewear, Mudwater, Que Bella Beauty, Rizos Curls, and more. And with my UGC/social media work, I’ve been able to work with Dove, RYZE Superfoods, Aussie Hair, MyFitnessPal, and more.

But regardless of these jobs—I would say truthfully what I am most proud of is my perseverance and faith in my higher power that is gracious beyond words. My ability to not lose my authentic self in an industry that will try to change you any chance it can get. My love for the craft of dance is what I’m proud of because the experiences you have in this industry pursuing a career like this causes many people to resent the one thing that they loved the most—dance. I’ve always told myself that dance will always be here. There will never be a day where if I don’t book a job that dance will disappear too. My focus on the journey of developing the craft and passion of dance is what keeps me going to this day.

I would say mainly what I believe makes me unique is my extreme passion of life, my mission, and my outlook. Very soon after moving to LA, I realized that the way you view your situation is exactly what you’re going to get out of it. I can confidently say I have pretty much mastered the art of rejection in this industry. I’ve been able to approach everything knowing that it is truly for a reason and is actually for my very best as long as I believe it and take the action to turn “negative” situations into my benefit (with the help of my higher power of course).

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Omg so many! I’ll start with my family—my mom, Courtney VanderBrink, my grandpa, Rodger VanderBrink, my grandma Patricia VanderBrink, my mom’s sister/my aunt Jennifer VanderBrink, and her wife/my aunt Melanie VanderBrink. I lived with my mom and grandparents growing up and they sacrificed so much for me to be able to pursue dance. It was not cheap by any means, and they would sacrifice so much money and sleep to be able to provide me the training and driving me to practice every single day plus competitions on the weekend. My aunts also always came to every single competition and would help drive me and watch me when my mom and grandparents had work. I love them all so much. I have so many other family members and close friends, like my Aunt Jo, my Uncle Jim, my grandma’s best friend Mrs. G, and so many more who were and still are all so supportive of my journey. Even though I never get to see most of them really at all anymore, I feel so much positive energy every day from them, and it feels like I have an army of beautiful spirits behind me helping me move forward every day!

My teachers growing up were Elisabetta Spuria, Michael Minery, Daniel Vaniska, Samantha Sonsogni, Kristen Gorski, Al Blackstone, Megz Alfonso, Christina Pioli, Tommy Sutter, Hannah Zin, and more. These particular teachers are the people that I still think of today—they helped shape me as a human and an artist, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Moving to LA, there have been so many incredible teachers, choreographers, and dancers who believed in me and pushed me to be my best. They include Gilbert Saldivar, Tye Myers, Ryan Miller, Stanley Muñoz, Kris Terry, Lindsay Ducos, Ashley Cruz, Tia Rivera, Latrina Washington, Tyrell Washington, Tobias Ellehammer, Kai Lin, Jeremy Green, Monica Giavanna, Chloe Arnold, Maud Arnold, Kai Martinez, Reina Hidalgo, Jamal Sims, Asiel Hardison, Will Bell, Bryan Tanaka, Fatima Robinson, Josh Smith, Luam Kefelzgy, Jasmine Badie, Cat Rendic, Noel & Luz Frias, Hannah Douglass, Galen Hooks, Miguel Zárate, Ruby Tilley, Draico Johnson, Brian Nicholson, Sean Bankhead, Brijet Whitney,
and more. Many of these teachers, choreographers, dancers, artists I met/trained with/worked with during my first year or year and half out here in LA, so I really just am so grateful for every single bit of knowledge and self confidence they’ve given me even if they don’t know it! They’ve made such a huge difference in my journey, and I will forever be grateful. I also want to shout out my the first agent who signed me at Movement Talent Agency back in NYC, Jim Keith, the first modeling agent I ever had, Topher DesPres, and my agents now at Clear Talent Group—Meisha Goetz, Chase Renouf, Kaila Cassling, Ashley Diamond, Ashleigh Smith, Haley Sanders—and my agent at Riot Talent Agency, Megan King. All of these people have invested their time, energy, money, and belief into me at some point or another, and I can’t express how grateful I am for that.

As for my close friends—my highschool bestie Melissa Myrtaj, my half sister Hennesse Decker, and my best friend here in Los Angeles, Kristen Stephens, have been the people I go to for everything. I have more close friends that I’m so grateful for, and they know who they are, but these are definitely the 3 people who I go to for most things. No matter how long it goes without seeing them, it’s always as if no time passes by. Lastly, I feel it would be silly and inauthentic of me to not include the person I was in a relationship with for a majority of my life since highschool. Although we are not together, this person and their family were a huge part of my journey, and I will always appreciate and respect the ways in which they showed up for me through the highs and lows.

Oh, and one more! My friend David. He was homeless when we first met, and little did he know, the encouragement he gave me during our little chats were truly what helped keep me together during some difficult times when I first moved out to Los Angeles. He always said to me that one day he was sure he’d see me on TV & would be proud that he knew me. I remember thinking if he can get up every day and keep trying, so can I. I hope he sees this, and I hope he’s safe, healthy, and happy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joc.martinez
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jocelyn-martinez-14a63a1a3
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jocelynmartinezzz
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jocelynmartinezzzz

Image Credits
The main photo of me mid air with the blue sports top and shorts : Anastasiya Sazhina (@anastasiya_s_photo on Instagram)

Rest of the photos are family photos or Gettys Images(the photos of me on stage with artists)