Transcript
Circuspreneur Podcast : This podcast is also available via stage link.com, the groundbreaking new platform for live performing arts. Please support the podcast by liking, subscribing, commenting, and tagging the podcast. It helps us to continue to bring the industry high level content. I'm your host, Shanae Stiletto. And today on the Circuspreneur podcast, I'm joined by Janice Martin. Welcome to the podcast, Janice.
Janice Martin: Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Well, we are so honored to have you and you're currently on a cruise ship. So you are floating in the great beyond.
Janice Martin: In the Great Caribbean, actually, to be exact. Not a bad place to be at Christmas time.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Oh, the great great beyond.
Janice Martin: Yeah. so
Circuspreneur Podcast : oh Oh, that sounds nice. We love all the warm vibes. i have I have cruise shipped in the Caribbean myself a time or two, so it is fabulous. And Janice, we want to tell listeners a little bit about you, about your fabulous and multifaceted career. Janice Martin is a world-renowned, multi-talented performer, a virtuoso violinist, pianist, vocalist, and most uniquely, an aerial acrobatic violinist. She's captivated millions around the globe through her unforgettable appearances on NBC's America's Got Talent, NCW's The Big Stage, where she stunned audiences by fusing breathtaking aerial artistry with world-class musicianship.
Circuspreneur Podcast : A recipient of the prestigious Stradivari Society recognition and a three-time female entertainer of the year, Janice's headline stages from Carnegie Hall and Alice Toley Hall to Tokyo's Century Hall, Prague's Riddle Finem, and even performed at the White House for the President of the United States.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Her productions, including the Janice Martin Cirque Show, Princess of the Violin and World on a String, have taken her artistry across continents, blending the elegance of classical music with the excitement and freedom and of aerial performance. Janice's collaborations with orchestras like the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, and Cirque de la Symphony have solidified her place as one of the most innovative and boundary breaking artists of our time. She's also a US Army veteran, an actress, a composer, and the author of the children's book, How I Learned to Fly, inspiring the next generation to embrace creativity, courage and heart and if you get a chance listeners please go to janice's website and watch her little uh her music video i like to say with uh children while she reads them her children's book it's darling and it's really precious and you're reading excerpts to them and they are just absolutely adorable i was going to ask you janice where did you shoot that little portion that little promo for your children's book
Janice Martin: That was actually, I had a show in Branson, Missouri. And when I was in Branson, I i was able to, i we got a team together and and gathered some kids and asked them to be in the video and we did it.
Circuspreneur Podcast : They were so cute. they were They were absolutely adorable.
Janice Martin: Wednesday.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah, they were so, so, so cute. I was like, oh my gosh. And I love I love your book. I love your children's book.
Janice Martin: Thanks.
Circuspreneur Podcast : We were speaking before you got on the podcast, Janice, about, you know, the book is very a very modern expression of how to run away with the circus. And you put in all the different themes of your really fascinating career and your life.
Circuspreneur Podcast : into your book. And so what compelled you, Janice, to write your children's book and, yeah, put it in this specific type of form to appeal to children?
Janice Martin: Well, actually, I was performing in Branson. I lived in New York and i was invited to go to Branson, Missouri. i thought I'd spend a year there and I ended up spending a lot more than that. And when I was there, this author came to one my came up to me after one of the shows and said, you know, you really you should write your your story. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And like, no, really, like you you you should share it. And so it kind of stayed with me. And they came again and said the same thing. And so I thought, well, you know I don't think I could write an adult version, but maybe I could write a children's book. And so I thought, I mean, I think it is important to share our stories. And I get inspired by inspirational books and podcasts and so forth. So I thought, well... why don't I just share my story of how i sort of overcame my fear of heights and which actually led to overcoming a lot of fears. And so I did. And I wrote it. In fact, I have a copy right here.
Janice Martin: So that's my book. And I had it actually. So i I made little drawings and took pictures.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: And then i found an an illustrator. I never actually met her in person because she lived in Romania. But yeah, so... That was through guru.com.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Oh, really? Oh, that's awesome. And I love the book. the The cover is so sweet and you're on your red aerial silk for everybody that's listening in here and not watching us on the podcast. It's very sweet. And I love to know that that those are like, yeah, your illustrations and your, again, you do so, you do like everything. Like, what is it that you don't do? And, you know, I think it sends a really great message to to children in a very modern sense of how you can run away with the circus. And you have, you know, the different parts of your life where you were in the military and, you know, you had to, you were told to climb this really big thing and you were, you know, it was really hard and very scary, very intimidating. And, you know, you were able to do that. And then that's what thought you kind of interested in, in, in exploring like aerial arts work, which again, you, who would think that that is the thing, but I think we never know what is going to inspire us in our life to go to kind of point where point A to point B. And I love that, you know, you went into the military because you went to Juilliard.
Circuspreneur Podcast : That's another wonderful, you know, facet of your story where, and then you were thinking about how do I pay off all of my student loans? And the thought came to you that there is a program in the military where they do pay your student loans. Again, very, you know, creative and innovative coming from that and then harnessing that experience to go you know, into the military. And so what was that experience like for you, Janice, like transitioning from, you know, Juilliard into the army?
Janice Martin: Oh, total culture shock. I mean, unbelievable. I mean, yeah on one hand, so and and the way that I found out about the the whole program, by the way, is right around the corner in New York, in Juilliard, they have a recruitment center for the for the army. And I was stewing over, what am I going to do? You know, I've got these student loans, I've got to pay back. And I was at i was on my final year in in master's and I knew so many people who just were burdened by these student loans and couldn't actually do do work that they were capable of because they're just running around doing gigs just to pay off loans. And I just really wanted to have freedom from that. And I saw this sign that said student loan repayment program, inquire within. And then I looked up and it said the U.S. Army Recruitment Center. And I just thought,
Janice Martin: There's no, that's funny. but And then I walked about the block down and I thought, well, you know, that's not being very open to the universe, Janice. So I went back and asked the guy, the recruitment officer, you have any violins in the army?
Janice Martin: And he was like, I don't think so, but let me go check. So he comes back and he's like, not only do we have to Do we have violins, but there's a job opening and they have an audition next week.
Janice Martin: So if you can get your you know promo in there and they accept you, they'll fly you down to the audition. So they did. and I got the job. And then i was like, now what?
Janice Martin: It was October, actually, when this all happened. So I was going to finish up in June. So i I just, I knew nobody who had been in the military.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Thank
Janice Martin: I mean, it was just completely, completely left field.
Circuspreneur Podcast : so
Janice Martin: So I didn't know what to do. And and I was studying with a wonderful teacher at the time, a Dorothy DeLay. And she said, honey, I think it's a wonderful opportunity. You can come here and take your lessons.
Janice Martin: And because New York, because I'd be stationed in Washington, D.C., And, you know, you can certainly have a career not being in New York City. So I had from October until June to get ready.
Janice Martin: And at the time, i literally couldn't do any push ups and I was incredibly weak. And so had grown i had grown up like where my violin teacher told me, do not do push ups.
Janice Martin: It's bad for a violinist. So i I was very weak.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: And then because of tendonitis, I started getting much more interested in physical health and I started taking dance classes. I took Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais and I started to become much more interested and more educated about how my body actually worked.
Janice Martin: And so I became very, very interested in strengthening. So from October until June, I sort of trained myself. And i I was watching movies like Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now and getting myself freaked out about these drill instructors. So I, you know, in the morning, I'd have somebody in my head saying, Martin, get that going. And so I really trained hard. And I ended up getting to being when I got there, I was the fastest runner in the company. And I almost could do the most push ups and sit ups. So after being at Juilliard in a place where
Janice Martin: I don't know, you you spend so many hours a day in a practice room looking at the four walls. And here I was out and they had adventures for us every day. We had to throw live hand grenades and went to a gas chamber. And we did what bivouac, which is basically camping for soldiers where you like, I mean, I kind of got into it because it was so, it was so different from what my life was like. And I remembered,
Janice Martin: Like a week before I went off to basic training, I saw this Time magazine that was talking about these, you know, really rich people who would spend lots of money to be dropped off in the middle of the forest and they'd have to fend their way out.
Janice Martin: And I was like, I'm getting paid to to go on this kind of survival wilderness retreat. So, you know, I did have...
Circuspreneur Podcast : That's a way to look at it.
Janice Martin: every and And honestly, i I kind of had a good sense of humor about it until I reached this confidence course and where I really truly was paralyzing with paralyzed by a fear of heights.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Thank you.
Janice Martin: And so that... I really i you know, when you don't think you can do something, it just seems completely impossible. And then when somehow you manage to do it, that really, really changed my life. And so that's that's how where that that book came from. And that's also where the drive to just, well, if I can do this, what else can I do?
Janice Martin: And and I came to aerial acrobatics pretty late in life.
Circuspreneur Podcast : any
Janice Martin: I had been studying martial arts at the Shaolin Temple in New York City, which was very I mean, it's it's well, it's actually more acrobatic than it is martial art arts.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Naturally. Yeah.
Janice Martin: Like, I mean, you know, we're doing lots of cartwheels and and things like. But I loved it.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: I just loved that environment so much. I loved the discipline and i loved our Sifu.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: But I went to a Cirque du Soleil show. I think it was oh Not I think.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Thank you.
Janice Martin: It was O. I was in the steam room. I took myself to Las Vegas because I had a gig and i was just going to enjoy the time. And this woman and in the steam room said, hey, I have a free ticket for O.
Janice Martin: Would you like to have it? i Because I can't go. And I was like, sure. So that was my introduction, honestly, to aerial arts. And I just had this emotional reaction to it.
Janice Martin: I just like felt tears coming down my cheeks. And I just thought I have to do this before I'm too old. So I went back to New York and enrolled in a class and I just said, look, I, I,
Janice Martin: I highly doubt anyone's going to hire me as an aerialist, even if I work very hard. But if I involve the violin, you know, maybe we maybe I can do something. So it but my lessons were with the understanding of let's figure out what we can do playing violin.
Janice Martin: And I just have been on a quest ever since to try to incorporate and make it an organic thing.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: And so the music is inspiring the movement and the movement inspires the music. And That's a lot easier said than done. So, you know, it's it's probably a lifelong journey, but I I i love it.
Janice Martin: So.
Circuspreneur Podcast : It looks like you love it.
Janice Martin: That's what I do.
Circuspreneur Podcast : And it's it's it's really amazing. I mean, it looks so hard. I think that's like the first word that anybody will say, hard, little bit scary in there. And as someone who really wanted to play the violin when they were younger, but got stuck with the flute.
Circuspreneur Podcast : And, you know, again, I love the flute to this day. Yeah. I wanted to play the violin so bad. Like I would, i would have maybe, i would have maybe have been you, Janice, had things gone my way.
Janice Martin: really
Circuspreneur Podcast : But it didn't. And that's okay. But I played the flute and I was doing ballet and I was usually even doing gymnastics. And, you know, I've always had this, you know, this idea. I always tell this story because it was a really big deal in my life. Yeah.
Circuspreneur Podcast : when I was little and and I've always been an enthusiast about the violinist. No, I have never taken classes or lessons. I'm not like you where you saw things out, you saw it and you're like, let's pair this. But I've always been very musically minded in that way.
Circuspreneur Podcast : And I have always thought of like the what if because I didn't love the flute.
Janice Martin: Oh.
Circuspreneur Podcast : So then I didn't stay with it. And for me, if I don't love something like if I love it, I mean, I'm going to spend my entire life dedicated to it. You know, I think I think you're like that, too. But If it's just not in there, it's if if it's not a part of like my innate being, I'm not going to stay with it.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Even if I could have excelled, maybe I could have been good. I don't know. But that's all to say, you know, have you paired the love of the violin and the complexities complexities and the intricacies of being such a highly regarded violinist?
Circuspreneur Podcast : I mean, you went to Juilliard and then also to fusing them together. within aerial arts performance. you know What have been the challenges within doing that? And then you know I think also too, what is this the perspective of other musicians?
Circuspreneur Podcast : you know You're a concert pianist, you do these really you know wonderful symphonies, you do these great, I mean, you can do a little bit of a little bit of everything, but it's not like you're even doing a little bit of everything because you can tell even without knowing that you're so highly skilled.
Janice Martin: Mm-hmm.
Circuspreneur Podcast : And I think that's probably, yeah, what is most fascinating about your journey to me of, you know, what has been the challenges within that and the overall, I think, feedback from, you know, coming from that environment and then sequencing into something else like this.
Circuspreneur Podcast : love long questions. Yeah.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: My audiences tend to get really excited about my multi multi-talents. And agents, it's been a harder sell because they, especially when I lived in New York, I felt like,
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: there's sort of a box that they want you to fit in. And if you don't fit in that box, they don't really know what to do with you. And i I've had some very open-minded people in my life who have opened doors for me, but I definitely had to work for that and definitely got, I mean, you know, I've had...
Circuspreneur Podcast : you
Janice Martin: I remember i was promoting my work and and at this orchestra league and it it actually got a laugh. They were talking about this aerial violinist. And so it was hard to not be a little humiliated by that. But,
Janice Martin: But on the other hand, and and honestly, when I first went on America's Got Talent, I think they thought I was going to be like a freak show. So they put me on. i put me on. I went on at eight zero in the morning.
Janice Martin: I had to do my rigging check and i did not do my audition until 10 o'clock at night. The whole day I sat there.
Circuspreneur Podcast : I know the feeling. Same.
Janice Martin: And the people who were on right when I was there, they were like, there was a guy who was a toe dancer, which means he put a little tuft of, you know, just to be like hair on his toe and some eyeballs and he wiggles it in this box.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Oof.
Circuspreneur Podcast : o
Janice Martin: And another, i mean, like they just had ridiculous acts around mine. And I just, so they were like, Don't bother. Like, so, and when they gave us their advice, it was like, you know, your presence, your everything is so important.
Janice Martin: That interview before your act is just as important as your act and blah, blah, blah. So I get on stage and they're like, oh, don't bother with the interview. Just climb and tell us your name as you're climbing.
Janice Martin: And I was like, oh God. So I get there and I'm as fabulous as I can.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Oh my God.
Janice Martin: And the audition went but like my act went really well and it got a standing ovation.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: So they're like, okay, we need you to come back and do the interview.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: And then, and then it ended up being like this really long ordeal. Then I, i had to sing alone. Then I had to sing and accompany myself with the violin. And it went, it went, it went a long time.
Janice Martin: And, yeah, But the thing is, like, people kind of have to see and experience what I do to appreciate it. Because when I talk about it, it's very difficult for people to understand it.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: And they just think it's weird or they don't understand it. And I guess so. And back to the question of how it is that I ended up doing all these different things. Yeah. And why I sort of clung to that is, well, I started off as a pianist.
Janice Martin: I was four when I started piano and five when I started violin. And in my family, I have two older sisters.
Circuspreneur Podcast : in
Janice Martin: And so we all played together and we'd play at church together. And then it just became kind of a competition with my sisters. Like, well, I'm going to learn... you know, this instrument.
Janice Martin: and then i played trumpet in high school to probably to just prove that I was a tomboy or something. I was a cheerleader. And then I played trumpet in the halftime. It was really stupid, but at any rate, I went to a tiny school.
Janice Martin: So I also had lots of opportunities. And,
Circuspreneur Podcast : and
Janice Martin: You know, i I started just acquiring this mentality of like, and part of it was because, you know, my parents were like this. It was like, it wasn't a question of how to do it. You just do it. Now go practice piano. I'll go do this and go to that. And you just do it. And it's kind of like in school, you do math and then you do science and then you do, you know, sociology or whatever your courses are. And that's kind of how I grew up thinking. And so when, you know, I'd have a violin teacher who was like, you really need to focus on just one, you know, you're really sabotaging your life because you're not focusing on one thing. i
Janice Martin: it's possible I have sabotaged my life and that I could be super famous if I wasn't. But i I just, I was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, quite frankly. Like, well, you know, here's an example of somebody we really admire because he did all these different things.
Circuspreneur Podcast : a
Janice Martin: And also because his knowledge from one field informed another field.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: So I can bring my musicality that I learned from singing into playing piano and into violin you Yes, they have different techniques, but I mean, I sort of have acquired the the mentality that everything is a technique technique.
Janice Martin: You just have to learn what it is. Sometimes it's a mental technique. Sometimes it's a muscle technique. Sometimes it's, you know, a food technique. it's you know it It all comes down to the systems that we that we learn, right?
Janice Martin: And you can always perfect that and polish it.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Right. Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: So I just thought, you know, we have pop singers who sing and dance and play an instrument and we admire that. So why am I limiting so myself so much? Because at this moment, I'm in the classical field.
Janice Martin: i And I was going to be just a classical soloist. And then I i just I felt so limited by that. And I missed playing piano. And then when I went off to college, I i was going practice 10 hours a day because I wanted to be a famous violinist.
Janice Martin: And I got tendinitis. I couldn't play anything. So, so I started opera and I was at a great opera school.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Wow.
Janice Martin: So I figured I might as well. And i was going to be an opera singer and I just, I didn't identify as an opera singer. I i probably am more like that now, but at the time I was very much like nerdy violinist.
Janice Martin: Like I know I, cause all the opera singers said I'd go to see at parties.
Circuspreneur Podcast : It's not me.
Janice Martin: They were like, oh hello oh and i and they'd boast about how fabulous they were and i just i didn't see myself like that so i wanted to get myself back i wanted to get myself back to health and and and so it just i just decided instead of limiting myself like
Circuspreneur Podcast : different
Janice Martin: You know, life is short. And I, what am I trying to be like another violinist for?
Circuspreneur Podcast : pedigree.
Janice Martin: Because we have enough of those.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: Maybe even the circus world has the same thing.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: And I think it's because the discipline is so difficult.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: Daily practice, doing things that are, you know, drudgery and sometimes the improvement is minuscule.
Circuspreneur Podcast : you
Janice Martin: Right. or incremental and just the the dedication you have to have you know sometimes we just get locked into a mentality and we stop seeing you know what else can be done with it and we stop we limit ourselves you know
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad that you didn't limit yourself. I'm glad that you were like, no way. I want to do whatever I want to do. Like, yes You know what's going to limit me or put me in a box?
Circuspreneur Podcast : I think you know i think it's in it's it's incredible. You start out in these art forms where it's all about expanding the capacity who of who you are. And then people then start trying to put you back into something else.
Circuspreneur Podcast : like They try to put you back in that box. But we're in the arts. We're in the creative spaces where you're supposed to explore. it You're supposed to... you know, evolve and look into those different like facets of yourself.
Janice Martin: Right.
Circuspreneur Podcast : And then slowly, slowly everyone's like, yeah, but guess what? Be creative, but only be creative like that person. It's like, that doesn't make any any sense.
Janice Martin: Right. You nailed it. You nailed it.
Circuspreneur Podcast : wait Like how would you have become you?
Janice Martin: Well, I mean,
Circuspreneur Podcast : yeah
Janice Martin: Well, and you you're the same way. I mean, you've created this podcast and you've created a whole, you know, culture around, you know, bringing awareness to what is going on with not only the art, but the people doing the art, too, and the vulnerabilities and that and all of that.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: I mean, like you're you're doing huge things you're you' that affect people's lives in in big ways.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Thank you so much. I really appreciate that, Janice. And, you know, I'm really honored. I wanted this podcast to be a space where we honor artists. We honor the work that you're doing right now because it's not easy to, know, be creative and be a rebel and to put yourself out there. And sometimes even within your own community and your own industry, it can be hard to break through And, you know, if people can't define who you you're busy, you know, doing that yourself. You know, you're doing keynotes. We were discussing, you know, before the podcast that you're going to be giving another talk soon. And, you know, I think it's so valuable in performers speaking and discussing their work. Sometimes people don't hear lot of who we are as a person, as a human being and the dynamics that go into who you are. as just like a personality and in being human and being vulnerable in that way. I think it's really relevant and important. And we're kind of rounding out, I think like the last probably like five or six minutes or so, Janice. And so I'd love to discuss a bit about your presence as a keynote speaker and what motivated you to speak on your experiences because you play so fluidly. I mean, the way that you express yourself, you do so much work, you do your one woman shows And, you know, you're kind of like a jack of all trades and you wear, you know, all of these different hats. But keynote is also, too, whole nother, you know, animal. It's challenging. I've given, you know, quite a few myself and I'm continuing to learn in that space.
Circuspreneur Podcast : But what was also important for you to communicate, you know, your journey and your art form and express it in that way, because not everybody wants to venture into that space. But, yeah, I love that you, you know, don't, yeah, you don't hold yourself or keep yourself from exploring anything that you want to do. And I think that's a very powerful lesson for everybody who feels like people are are trying to say that they're only supposed to do things no matter what it is in one particular way.
Janice Martin: Well, I think it is important to share our stories. And I, from just the, and this is a new venture for me, so I haven't done a lot of keynote speeches, but just the ones that I've done, I've i've always been very surprised that, because I kind of feel like I'm rehashing knowledge that everyone is saying.
Circuspreneur Podcast : yeah You're on your way. Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: And it's really surprising to me how many people will come up and say, oh, I learned so much, or they're taking notes. And I'm like, you're taking you're taking notes on my speech? Okay. But like,
Circuspreneur Podcast : I love how you're surprised, by the way, that you're surprised that people are taking notes on what you have to say.
Janice Martin: But, right, right.
Circuspreneur Podcast : You you have so much experience.
Janice Martin: But this is the the thing, because when you're inside your head and you're creating, you just forget what that what you know is not what everybody else knows.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah.
Janice Martin: and it's and And the thing for me that I love about doing these is that it does allow me to connect to people in a way that I don't normally.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Right. It's not universal sometimes. Yeah.
Janice Martin: Because There's just this kind of wall, like, you know, you you talk to people afterwards, oh, yeah we liked your show. and But but there's not there's not a lot of communication. and And I think also, especially with circus arts and music that's not singing, you are so in in what you're doing that it's not really, it's about it's about the art.
Janice Martin: It's not really a connection. Yeah. I mean, if people connect, you want people to connect to your art.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Janice Martin: But if you're spending your time connected to people on stage, and then you're not doing your thing. And so, i mean, so when you're speaking, you're still speaking about a topic.
Circuspreneur Podcast : me
Janice Martin: But like, it it is really gratifying to talk to people afterwards who come up and they have questions or, you you know, and I mean, motivational speakers have just really touched my life.
Janice Martin: It's probably one of the reasons I i have had the courage to do things outside of the regular traditional spheres. and And, you know, to just have somebody saying, you know, go for it, is it's it's remarkable how lone of a voice that can be.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Thank you.
Janice Martin: If you're surrounding yourself with people you know all the time, they kind of want the same, they want to expect the same things out of you. And it's, I think motivational speaking as it is is really important, actually.
Janice Martin: So i I do find it really gratifying. I wouldn't want to just do that. But in coupled with what I do, it's it's kind of an outlet. And it also reminds me of stuff that I need to be remembering, like discipline, things like that, you know.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yeah, it's a great reminder. I know. I like how you said that because sometimes we have to, you know, self-soothe and, you know, self-priest ourselves, you know, giving your like your internal sermon to remind yourself of of what you're of what you're doing. I love how you talked about being present and being in the moment also, too. and and And we're also used to doing that, I think. in our art form and trying to carry that into the rest of our, into the rest of our life and then inspiring others, you know, to figure out where they can get, I think that, that holy center from, right. I think that's what is established when you're doing art on the level that you're doing it to, you know, and taking it to such a different level. But I want to thank you so much again, Janice, for being on the Circuspreneur podcast and for sharing, you know, your wonderful story. You know, your very multifaceted story. i think you just have like so many different, you know, parts of your personality and things that you've been willing and brave to take.
Circuspreneur Podcast : I just, again, cannot imagine from going through on all of these things that you've gone through and and living through that. But To close out the podcast, what are some, you know, some inspiring words that you would like to leave listeners with, especially going into this new year, into 2026 as a performer yourself that continues to, I think, just recreate herself. and, you know, and evolve in the ways that you have. But for for performers that maybe also too don't know where they fit in and are trying to, i think, carve out a niche for themselves like you have and the painstaking work that it takes to be able to do that on top of staying relevant and staying prepared and, you know, doing all of the groundwork that you need to do to you know, stay, you know, so excellent.
Circuspreneur Podcast : What would you leave listeners with and forward thinking for who they could be with their art, if they're interested in that or just as, you know, people in their lives?
Janice Martin: Well, I really believe in the discipline of your mentality of focus on the love of your craft and your relationship with that and and focus on you know the effort that you're giving to it. People will like it. Some people won't like it.
Janice Martin: You'll make some auditions. You won't make some auditions. there You know, there's nothing you can really do about that. And you can't keep trying to change yourself into what you think other people want you to be.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Thank you.
Janice Martin: i mean, I know auditions. Yes, there's some criteria that you've got you've got to match. But I mean, I really do believe that put the due diligence in and trust that it will come to the to fruition.
Janice Martin: and don't be freaked out if not everybody loves it right away I mean you know I think I think trying to reinvent yourself simply so you can please different people it it does come back to bite you in the end i think you have to just stay diligent and keep believing in you in what you're doing and if you don't like it then then change but don't don't be intimidated by whether others like it or not you know
Circuspreneur Podcast : Yes, beautiful words. And this is coming again, listeners, from a aerial violinist. So the next time you think people might not understand what you do and who you are remember there was someone playing a violin yeah and doing aerial.
Circuspreneur Podcast : at the same time. So if Janice can communicate that, you can figure out a way to communicate who you are and what you want to do to others.
Janice Martin: Yes.
Circuspreneur Podcast : You know, nothing is nothing is indefinable. You know, so you can't put a price on that value either. You know, it's, it's I think, a very precious precious talent to possess, you know, what you have, Janice, and then also to inspiring others with that talent to go seek that out because, I think you're a very, you're a vision of excellence in everything that you do.
Janice Martin: Thank you.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Absolutely. And listeners, please, you know, go online and and look at Janice's videos. They're just gorgeous. There's one where she is literally rotating while playing the piano in the air.
Circuspreneur Podcast : youll You'll definitely get a kick out of that. And looking forward to seeing more of that, Janice. And thank you so much again. is Circus Preneur Podcast.
Janice Martin: Thank you so much.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Absolutely. This Circuspreneur podcast is also available on stagelink.com, S-T-A-G-E-L-Y-N-C stagelink.com, the groundbreaking new platform for live performing arts that provides unmatched access and connection to this vibrant world of shows and entertainment. If you're a professional in the performing arts, visit stagelink.com slash pro, S-T-A-G-E-L-Y-N-C-P-R-O. Stagelink Pro offers industry professionals higher visibility and networking opportunities and tools to support and enhance their careers.
Circuspreneur Podcast : Until next time, everyone, I'm your host, Sinead Saletto. Thank you so much for tuning in to the Circuspreneur podcast.
