Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon James Beltran.
Hi Brandon James, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am a professional Dancer, Model and Content Creator living in Los Angeles. I grew up in Orange County so LA has always been close. I would come into the city for dance competitions and auditions from a really young age. I grew up dancing and playing soccer and then as I got older focused more on my career and dancing. I got my first agent at 14 years old and since then have had the idea of being a professional dancer at the forefront of my mind. And when I turned 18, I made that my full-time career. I have been lucky enough to have experience dancing for Taylor Swift, Jason Derulo, Gwen Stefani and many more artists. As well as getting to be in multiple tv shows like GLEE, Best Friends Whenever on Disney, and Good Trouble on HULU. Work for me changes so frequently and the opportunities that present themselves to me have been so wonderful. Recently I did tick off one of the main things on my wishlist was getting to dance in the Marilyn Monroe movie BLONDE which was such an incredible project to get to be a part of! Recently I have opened myself up to content creation and working with brands that I align with and getting to use my creativity with dance and put that towards showing more of how I live my everyday life which I’m absolutely loving. All of this has allowed me to travel the world and see so many wonderful places and bring me home now to my flat in LA that feels like an absolute dream. I found a place that feels vintage with beautiful character but also has space for me to grow into. I’m obsessed!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has it been easy…Absolutely not! I think people do look at my career and think that it has been so easy. And I always refer back to what my parents told me at a young age. LUCK is Labor Under Correct Knowledge. So people see the shiny product but they don’t see all the hard work that goes into making the dreams a reality. I believe in this so much I have it tattooed on the back of my arm. Deciding to focus on the arts was a natural decision for me, but also one that I understood would be extremely hard and take time to feel like I’ve had some sort of success. And to tell you the truth, I’m still reaching for that feeling. In my industry as a dancer there is not really a ladder to climb then you’ll be at the top. It’s constant auditioning and proving yourself. You do a single job and then you are back in the arena competing again with everyone else for the next spot in whatever the audition may be. Think the hardest thing is the consistency. With any other career, you know that work is coming. You can get a job and have savings and be able to map out your life. Where in this industry you can book a job and it be an incredible experience and pay well, but then not book something else for months on end. That pressure of making sure that you save and budget and have work coming can be extremely taxing and hard not only physically because you’re consistently auditioning. But emotionally as well because a lot of the time you are feeling a pull between wanting to live life but needing to save and struggle to feel ok with where you are at.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
So as I said, I am a professional dancer. I specialize in Movies/ Tv/ and working for artists. And the styles that I feel are my specialty are Jazz, Contemporary, and as I’ve gotten older Hip Hop. I think I am a good combination of classically trained with ballet foundation molding together with modern hip hop to be able to add my own flair onto any choreography that is sent my way. I think the biggest thing that sets me apart though is that I am a professional dancer and I’m a guy. When I was younger, it was a much bigger thing than it is now, but when started, it was me and maybe 2 or 3 other boys. I think it is so wonderful that there are more men who are in the industry now and so the public getting incredible opportunities is amazing to see! I think the thing that I am most proud of is sticking with dance. Throughout my entire childhood, I was bullied and teased for dancing yet I stayed with it. I knew that I loved what I did and had such an incredible support system in my family that believed in me so much so I wanted to make things happen. And I did! I’m so proud of the fact that I have accomplished all of this!
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I think the thing that I like the best about living in LA is that we are so close to everything. I am such a beach kid. I feel at home on the sand and swimming in the ocean so a quick drive we can be watching the sunset with friends by the sea. But also can jet up to the mountains and rent a cabin and play in the snow and just have that experience it’s so incredible. As far as locally, I love that where I live is so walkable. My gym is a couple blocks away, my favorite coffee shop Neighborhood is just right down the street, and the grove is a 10-minute walk away. I like feeling like everything I could need is all so central to me and all of my friends are so close. I can drive to any of them at any time and it fills me up! Plus I am born and raised in Orange County so a bit of a drive and I’m back with my family which is such a luxury!
The thing that I absolutely hate so so much about living in LA is the parking. Literally, every single bit of it is frustrating and annoying. My apartment doesn’t have parking; it’s all only street, which is a nightmare! Can ask any of my friends I end up calling them just to chat because it takes so long for me to find a place where I won’t get towed or ticketed and actually find a spot for my car.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonbeltran/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0kF14uXbMFdc1ECgGyrj8w
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@brandonjamesbeltran?lang=en
Image Credits
John Diego Antorveza @heydiego Wes Klain
