Daily Inspiration: Meet Tatiana Turan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tatiana Turan.

Hi Tatiana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My dance entertainment company, BLING DIVAS ENTERTAINMENT has been in business since 2008. Offering premium dance and walk-around entertainment for corporate events, private parties, weddings, casinos, nightclubs, and often television & music videos. It all started from what I found to be a lack of quality event entertainment at the time. And when I see a “problem”, I fix it!

Performing (both dance & acting) has always been in my daily life. If I am not doing it, I feel like a limb is missing. Not good for a dancer! I started by training in classical ballet, which soon turned into jazz and then musical theater.

I received my BA in Theater from UC Irvine. So although my friends thought I was a double major, seeing me in ongoing rehearsals in both the dance and theater departments, I was actually there primarily for my acting studies. Combining the two was my favorite, however, so musical theater was the perfect blend, and I was in several productions (in both departments) throughout my four years there.

After graduating, I moved back to LA to pursue my acting career. It was tough. I kept up by doing a lot of theater at the time. But that doesn’t make a living here in LA, unfortunately. I booked a few bit tv parts here and there, but it wasn’t moving at the speed I had envisioned. I started booking more dance jobs and making most of my income as a dancer. Both locally, and abroad. Soon I found myself choreographing some of the shows I was in. Never anything I had planned to do, but it naturally fell into my lap and I went with it.

After years of dancing in productions for live shows, tours and events, several producers would ask if I could choreograph them too. It seemed like the natural progression. Soon after, it also became time to invest in some good costumes so that I could provide the “full package” for these productions. My first set of costumes was a silver sequined VEGAS SHOWGIRL look. To this day, I have them in my stock! Even though they’ve seen better days, they will never be thrown away. They are sentimental to me.

Slowly, one booking at a time, and with the right opportunities showing up for me, I found myself as the owner of a full-fledged entertainment company. Again, not anything I had planned, but I went with it. It not only allowed me to be able to dance and perform regularly, but it proved to be a great small business, for which I could be creative all the time!

Some of the highlights for Bling Divas over the years: providing the opening number for the 2014 KPOP concert performed at The LA COLISEUM. I choreographed 16 showgirls to open the show to a stadium full of about 80,000 people! I had chills and was in tears from the applause and screaming behind me! I was overcome from the excitement in the space. What a thrilling moment and memory. We also had an 8-year long residency at THE EDISON in DTLA, for which, every Saturday night we performed our vintage burlesque show, under the name, THE EDDIES. The exposure we had from that, allowed us to do bigger jobs for red carpet premieres, studio parties, and appearances in some tv shows as well. In 2015 we were booked to perform at Coachella (Main Stage) with the band, SAINT MOTEL. The performances got a lot of media attention. The festival-goers and media loved it, we got a lot of great exposure from it. We went on to perform several more times with the band, including, in a handful of their music videos. Another top highlight is getting to perform in the Alicia Keys video, “Tears Always Win”. Bling Divas was booked to be her showgirl cast-mates. Not only was it memorable for that reason alone, but then we got our own private concert when, between takes, Alicia took to the piano in the middle of the stage and sang. Chills!!!

The business side of things was, of course, a learning curve. Never having gone to business school, or managerial classes, much of what I now implement today, was all from trial & error over the years, and often times hard lessons. But, the truth is, even in the midst of some large adversities I’ve experienced in my 16 years of being a boss, I never gave up. I learned; sometimes painfully, but I would always pivot accordingly.

I am still running my company, choreographing our shows, styling the various themes, and running the business end of things. The only difference is, now I am not dancing in my productions. So I get to have a clearer vision and less complicated relationships with all of the performers. It’s easier on so many levels. But then, I’m not performing, which is what I really love to do.

Since stepping out from the dancing, I have turned back to acting. After years of taking a break to build BDE, returning back to acting was a learning curve. The game had changed and I was a different age now. But on so many levels, it’s much better! Older / wiser, yes! AND ALSO, not as fearful, more trusting in my abilities, and less self-conscious. It’s ironic how getting older can “age you out” of one field, but make it better in another!

It is not lost on me, how very fortunate I am to get to live this creative life. I am constantly getting to create and do what I’ve always dreamt of doing, and make a living at it. It’s not exactly how I had pictured it. I did not become the next Julia Roberts after all, but I’m still consistently working and getting to use my talents. On the regular.

You can catch me in commercials, some tv and short films. But my latest venture, keeping me busiest at the moment, are the vertical micro-dramas, both on line and on your phones! Very reminiscent of soap-operas, or Telenovelas (on crack!). Typically, I’m playing the villain roles, which is so juicy and fun for me. It reminds me so much of my theater days, especially the classics, like Shakespeare, in which there are clear heroes and distinct villains. I am NOT suggesting that the writing is nearly as sophisticated, or anything remotely close to being a classic, but rather, the extreme intensity of the characters, and the dramatics of it all. Even though on film, it’s all very theatrical in nature. That’s really fun for me.

So, I’ve gone back to the acting after all. I thought once I stepped away from it, that was the end. But this second chapter is so delicious and thrilling. So here I am again, getting to combine my passion for dance, while running my company, and my acting, while actually ACTING! It’s all just wrapped up in a different package than I had imagined. Life is clever and giving that way. I am very grateful.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t know any long-running business – large or small – that has a smooth road. There are always challenges along the way. The difference of whether a business survives or not, might be how the challenges are navigated. You either throw in the towel and decide it’s not worth it. Or you learn from the obstacle / lesson and emerge stronger. I’ve always chosen the latter and it’s why I’m still in business.

I’ve learned a lot about being a boss. It was most difficult when I was also dancing among those I would hire. The waters often got murky. Eventually, I learned how to both, manage and be a peer, but not too long after learning, is when I retired from dancing in my company. Now that I’m strictly running the shows, it’s less complicated and more straight forward. I also seem to communicate more clearly. It never came naturally to me, I regularly thought, well this is common sense, I shouldn’t have to say it. But as a boss, it’s the most important thing to be able to do, whether it seems trivial or not.

Trial and error has been the theme throughout most of my journey. That’s life for us all, I suppose.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a working actor, and small business owner of an entertainment company. The two blend nicely. They compliment each other on so many levels. It’s a gift that I get to do a little of both! And being an actor is also a business. so I use my knowledge from one to aid the other, quite often.

I am proud of allowing myself to grow and learn, sometimes not so gracefully, but it definitely feels better now than when I started.
In terms of running my dance entertainment company, it’s all the business stuff that I had to learn: getting incorporated, putting the talent on payroll, learning how to write full-proof contracts, etc. The boring legal stuff. All that AND, learning how to manage multiple people, who are performers no less, with varying personalities and energies.

What sets me apart is my tremendous attention to detail, my big-picture vision, and quite frankly, using my intuition. It’s never led me wrong. And on the rare occasions now when I ignore it, I am regretful. I am also not afraid to speak up, for myself, and for my team. As a dancer myself, I know how it feels to be undervalued and to be the last one thought of. So I am very performer-centric, if that’s a word. I will go to bat for my team. And in return, I expect the same loyalty, respect and commitment from them.

I strive with both my acting and dance business to go above and beyond. To surprise everyone, the clients especially, with the end result, while remaining professional and calm (something I’ve almost mastered over the years). Always a work in progress!

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was serious, studious, hard-working and always played by the rules. I’m a Capricorn after all!
I was dedicated to my dance classes and rehearsals. Often times, missing school functions or playdates. But in the end, it taught me discipline and gave me the passion I still have for it today. I had a vast imagination and would create often – plays, skits, by myself, or with friends.

I would put on performances with my brother. Dressing him up and ordering him around! Looking back, he was game, but he would never admit to it today!! I suppose that prepped me for having the leadership qualities I do now. I mean, I’m still dressing people up and ordering them around!! So…!

I’ve learned that it’s okay to be a student of life. It’s ok to still be growing and expanding. I don’t always have to have the answers, or get it right. I am more self-forgiving, even when others might not be. My initial vision of my life might not have arrived in the same package I had in mind, but it’s for a reason, and in many ways, it’s better.

Lastly, anyone reading this who knows me, knows that I don’t finish a sentence without mentioning astrology. My advice is, for anyone who hasn’t already, learn your chart. LEARN. YOUR. CHART. It is a game-changer. It has made me a better human, a better friend, a better wife, a better performer, a better actor (I even give my characters signs!) and a better boss. It’s a roadmap for your journey through life. Once I understood my energies and how they come into play with everything I do, how I move, how I relate to others, how I function, how I communicate, life changed for the better.

Capricorn Sun & Mercury / Pisces Moon / Scorpio Rising, Venus, Jupiter & Mars. That’s a lot of intensity, a lot of feelings, a lot of leadership. I now lean into all of it. I do not apologize for it. I embrace it and use it. It has made all the difference, in all aspects of my world.
When you’re in my orbit, do not be surprised when I ask you for your birth time.
Watch, a decade from now, you’ll probably be interviewing me about my new Astrology Business! 😉

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BlingDivasEntertainment.com / www.IMDB.me/tatianaturan
• Instagram: @blingdivas and @tatianaturan_actor

Image Credits
Headshot (main photo) Yellowbelly Photo

The main BD poster (all girls sitting on white boxes with red curtain frame): Shawn Flint Blair