Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Chanelis Betancourt Kessell.
Nancy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Artemisa, Cuba, until the age of 16! As a child, my mother saw the potential in me to become a professional dancer! I started taking classes in the Cultural Arts Center in Artemisa, Cuba! There I took my first classes in ballet, which I honestly hated, then took modern and contemporary classes! Which made me fall in love with dance! One day I decided I wanted to get into the Vocational School of Art. I auditioned in 4th grade and was accepted to start the following year. While it was extremely difficult due to the fact that I was living on campus, away from my family at the age of ten, I studied there for five years! At 15, I graduated that level and got accepted into the National School of Dance, aka ENA (Escuela Nacional de Arte). A year after that, I joined my father in Baytown, Texas, where I finished high school in Goose Creek Memorial.
I started College as a Biology major because they didn’t have any dance programs where I attended back in Texas! After a year, I decided to move to Miami with my uncle and aunt where I attended Miami-Dade College and changed my major to dance! There I joined Jubilation Dance Ensemble with my amazing professor Michelle Grant-Murray and took dance classes for three semesters! I can say that all my training in dance has impacted me as a model when it comes to facial expressions, projection, connecting with the camera, and posing.
It wasn’t until COVID 19 hit the world that my passion for modeling was born! Yes, I thought about becoming a professional model before, but quarantine helped me get all my ideas together! I did my research about all types of modeling and discovered I wanted to become a commercial model!!
I’ve done collaborations with amazing models and photographers that helped me gain experience! Beauty, product and experimental shoots have been my focus so far as I strive to expand in the art of modeling.
Great, 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?
Life will always have obstacles that can stop or give us the strength to continue fighting for our dreams. It’s all about how we choose to deal with them. It hasn’t been easy at all, but now I’m more focused than ever on myself and my dreams.
Learning how to be on my own from the age of ten without being able to spend the nights with my mother or my sister. Thank God, I am about to graduate from MDC with a major in dance, but paying for tuition has been a struggle nonetheless. Not having a reliable source of transportation until recently made it very hard for me to move around at first. On top of that, starting a life on my own in the city of Miami has been a big challenge. Living far away from my family has hit me the hardest, but I know I’m making them proud.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Currently, I am building my independent modeling business from the ground up. Commercial and editorial shoots are my specialty. Modeling on a runway would be a huge pleasure and definitely one of my goals. I am very proud of myself for working very hard to achieve my dreams of becoming a professional model. What makes me stand out is my warrior spirit as well as the desire to take the world by storm and make my dreams come true. I’m always striving to get better.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
One of my proudest moments thus far was a product shoot for a purse brand named Accents Reign. I’m most proud of this shoot because it was my first time being paid to model and it’s made me realize that it’s truly possible for me to do this professionally.
Contact Info:
- Email: chanelis.betancourt@gmail.com
- Instagram: chanelis_betancourt
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