Mackenzie Martin, the founder of five different creative companies, is working to make professional dancers feel more valued. The industry has a tradition of underpaying, criticizing, and pitting professional dancers against one another, and Mackenzie wants this phenomenon to end. While not all of her business ventures are focused on dance, her mission as a business owner is to create safe spaces for dancers to feel respected and supported in their pursuits.
Hailing from Oklahoma, Mackenzie Martin has always had a passion for creation and dance. Since she was three, she was inspired to translate her wildest dreams into concrete projects that let her discover what fulfills her and what impact she wants to leave on the world. She has been able to apply her skills as a choreographer, teacher, and entrepreneur on many different projects since relocating to Los Angeles and finding her niche.
Mackenzie owns five companies that each serve a purpose for her mission as a business owner and professional dancer. Her oldest company, SOUL DE SOUL, was founded a decade ago when she was in university studying dance.
SOUL DE SOUL has grown substantially over the years. The company is a well-known organizer of dance conventions that take place in cities across the country with an impressive panel of faculty and guest artists. Mackenzie’s inspiration for SOUL DE SOUL was to create community-based conventions for young dancers in a diverse environment that's rich in artistry, creation, joy of movement and intersectionality where the emphasis is on people.
The company’s conventions provide dancers with training and performance opportunities where they can express their talent authentically and receive life affirming feedback. Mackenzie says this process encourages dancers to hone their skills, not to rate their performances or have them compete with each other.
Mackenzie’s second company is an eponymous organization dedicated to promoting her services as a choreographer and creative director. She has collaborated with top music artists, the world’s biggest streaming service, and famous retail brands. Mackenzie’s honest storytelling has enabled her to be a judge and guest faculty member for many organizations, and win the Exemplary Women in LA Dance Award last year.
Mackenzie also owns GEOMETRY Contemporary Dance Company, which is a female identifying professional dance company that performs both nationally and internationally, they are currently working on a show which will premiere in the spring of 2024. Martin’s last two businesses are GENESIS STUDIOS, a recently opened contemporary dance studio based in LA which offers professional classes and modalities that supports the ‘whole dancer’. TYZ Creative, an administrative headquarters for all of Mackenzie’s business endeavors.
Mackenzie has moved through several personal struggles like the passing of her mother and discovering that she is queer in her 30s. These moments were challenging to navigate as a business owner and creative, but Mackenzie believes they have improved the authenticity of her work and clarified what it is that she stands for.
In the future, Mackenzie plans to pour more energy and resources into making her existing companies efficient and successful. While she still has plenty of creative ideas, Mackenzie will prioritize balancing her personal and professional duties so that she can continue to hold space for the clients and community she aims to serve.
“Throughout my career, I have created many things and accomplished my biggest goals both individually and with the incredible support of my teams,” says Martin, “No matter where I am in my professional journey, I will work to give more value to the communities and people that I have the honor of supporting and servicing. I believe that will be possible by listening to my intuition and creating the programs and resources that speak to my overall vision of making dance a supportive, connected, safer industry where dancers are held in value’’
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Name: Mackenzie Martin
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