Today we’d like to introduce you to Joselyn Arciaga.
Hi Joselyn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Dance, music, and art has always been a part of me. My parents put me and my sisters in Polynesian Dance at the age of four. I then moved on to musical theater, jazz, hip hop, and sprinkles of lyrical and contemporary from eleven years old all the way through to the present.
Although I started college as a dance major, God had other plans at the time, and I carefully chose to focus on my career as a hairstylist and makeup artist for a while.
In a true balancing act, my whole adult life has consisted of working at the salon, on top of side freelance gigs as a professional dancer/choreographer… and always added on: the glamorous role of “restaurant server” on the side. “The hustle” has always been very real to me and now that I have Wave (my dance studio) and Mane Thing (my salon), I can finally understand what all the hard work was for.
People always ask me how I do all of this and still stay sane, and the answer is very simple: I truly love what I do. Why? Because all three professions allow me to deeply connect with people. Over time, I’ve learned that I love to learn about people’s stories: to hear about experiences and to be able to learn from it all is what drives me to do what I do. Every day is different for me, so it’s never been about a plan, but trusting in God and whatever is written in the stars has got me this far and I know it won’t stop here.
Wave Studio Space has been the wildest of dreams come true. It all started with an inspired idea to create a place for myself and others to express freely: without pressure of reason or judgment from others. I had taken a five year hiatus from dance, and to come back to see most spaces industry and competition driven was something I felt foreign to. My lack of competitive nature has driven me to create a sub-community in art and dance that I felt did not exist yet. As I get older, I am realizing that there is so much life outside of dance, so to have a space where work, life, balance, and art can coexist smoothly is very much needed for all of us.
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?
Life in business has been an absolute frenzy of highs and lows.
There are so many things that I could have done differently in the beginning, but the cliche small business owner fumbles have been crucial to my experience as a founder and leader in the community.
I always give myself grace knowing that the lessons are deeply imprinted in my story, and whether the struggles were professional or personal, I’m just glad that I know better now.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve come to learn so far is that business is indeed so extremely personal.
To elaborate, a business owner’s well being is a deep reflection of the success of her company.
For some tea, my personal life went to shambles about a year and a half into opening, and it was not a very pretty time. Although I tried my best to fight for strength amongst a break up, move out, loss after loss, at my lowest point I wanted to give it all up. It’s actually comical now how dramatic it all seemed.. but thankfully, after I dug into the depths of my soul to find reason to keep going, I just knew I had to push through for a purpose bigger than me, and did just that.
To find support from my family and to my surprise, so many strangers who became great friends, was by far the biggest blessing in my journey as an entrepreneur. I had to find my light again, and if it weren’t for these people, my businesses would not be where the are today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
By the grace of God, my talents have driven my entire professional career. I would consider myself a “freelance creative”, and love that I am able to specialize in so many different trades.
I have been a licensed hairstylist for nine years, and now own a salon with my girl Mariam out in Fountain Valley.
I love it all: haircuts, color, highlights, extensions, all of the above plus a yap session with my girls at the salon and my clients, really makes the work day fly by.
Time to time I work as a freelance wedding hair and makeup artist, and get to travel all over California to work with these amazing brides and wedding parties. It’s so beautiful to be a part of such a special milestone in someone’s life, whether it’s in this, or in creating choreography for a first dance or for the wedding party surprise, I love that I get to witness such pure bliss in the process.
Smoothly transitioning to my life as a professional dancer and choreographer, I’ve had the pleasure of performing for multiple venues and audiences. Some of my most recent gigs have been with Disney and Segerstrom Center for the Arts, courtesy of my sister’s dance company Island Inspirations. I was recently given the opportunity to choreograph a team of dancers for an NFL on Prime commercial, so hopefully more of that in the near future! From luaus, special events, theater productions, music videos, national commercials, and larger shows, it has been a dream to do it all.
My life as an artist has taught me so much; but my life as a human, a normal girl with uncountable flaws and times of darkness, is what fuels it all. I am most proud of the moments that I’ve chosen to come back to myself after being so lost in other people’s narratives of me. We live in a time where outside validation is so sought after, and if anything has set me apart from the crowd, it’s that I really could give two hoots about what other people think. Flexibility has been a key pillar to my success, and with that, I’ve learned to listen only to myself, and the people I can really learn from. Other than that, it’s been refreshing to sharpen my skills of filtering out all the unnecessary noise that may potentially hold me back.
Lately, I’m finding myself in so many different circles, all ones that cater to different versions of me., I love that there is community to be found in dance, exercise, movement, art, and all in between. So far, I am am most fulfilled when I can show others how important it is to move freely in a physical, mental, and spiritual sense. It’s a gift to be able to get people to feel good about themselves, so I hope to always lead with that.
My ability to create connection with anyone in the room has landed me so many blessings in my career, and so far, without force, this life is what has unfolded.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I am a very lucky girl.
By no means does that mean I haven’t experienced utter downfall… but in my story, loss leads to gain, and falling leads to flying.
My business has thrived on the connections I’ve built, and to know so many humans that want to create art and good in the world can only be described as drawing some really good cards.
My dance studio and hair salon are both byproducts of knowing the right people, and taking a chance at the right time. Thankfully we (my business partners and I) have been brave enough, and have worked hard enough to be able to turn our dreams and other people’s creative ideas into reality. So despite undeniable setbacks, I am confident that we have the best of luck on our side.
Pricing:
- STUDIO USE:
- dance classes
- creative workshops
- rehearsals
- photo/video shoot
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wavestudiospace.online
- Instagram: wavestudiospace
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaqXS4zg_KS0WChAddzT82g
Image Credits
Gino Lucas
Tyler Lopez
