Art & Life with Gissette Valentin

Gissette, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in Florida. I’ve been dancing since I was 9, and acting since I was 12. I stopped acting because I was too shy. When I turned about 20/21, I decided to face that fear and jumped back into it. I grew up in a single mother household with my older brother. Not a day past where I wasn’t creating. It would’ve been through dance, writing, music. etc. I moved to Atlanta two days after high school to pursue my goals. It has been an amazing journey of ups and downs ever since. From performing on awards shows and films to acting in major TV shows. As well as creating my own projects. In both thriller and comedy.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I like to call myself a storyteller. I love creating stories people can relate to, as well as bringing life to a character someone else may create. Most of my work with dance has been with Award shows, Films, as well as live stage, tours and events. With acting, it has been commercials, TV shows and indie projects. With the goal of taking over the action/action comedy world. With that being said, this past year I started training in screen fighting. It has been a crazy adventure and tons of fun. I will being tying that in with my dance and film creations. For example, I’m currently working with another writer on a thriller where I’ll be acting as well as doing my own screen fighting. Another is a dance project that shares the story of an animalistic love. That will tie in acting, screen fighting, as well as dance. At the end of the day I want people to take away emotions. It can be love, hate, sadness, joy. As long as they are feeling what it’s like to be human, I’ll be happy. Now a days, sometimes we can forget what that feels like.

In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
I think the biggest challenge for artist today is saying “yes”. Too many artists say yes to things that won’t move them forward to their end goal. Yes, it’s a check, and that’s definitely needed every now and then, but never lose focus. Once your time is gone, there’s no getting it back.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I have a web series called Relatable. That can be found on Facebook and IG @relatablesereies. My dance/acting work can be found on YouTube and IG @gissettevalentin and IMDb. As far as my indie projects and writings go, those are not out yet due to film festivals and post productions.