JAMES COMBO MARINO

James “Combo” Marino is an artist whose passion for life will move you to be your best.  Born and raised in East Hartford, CT, and after playing pre professional in Italy after high school, this soccer player turned dancer started his hand in the entertainment industry in New York City.  After migrating to Los Angeles and creating an abundant performing career, he quickly started teaching at the major Los Angeles based dance studios; Debbie Reynolds, IDA, Movement Lifestyle, etc.  Now he is also faculty at one of the most prominent dance studios in the world, Millennium Dance Complex.  Outside of LA, on the convention circuit he teaches on REVEL dance convention.  In traveling to over 40 countries in his career; teaching at local studios in the United States and internationally is one of his favorite things to do because it gives him a chance to share and inspire young dancers who don’t have the chance to get to the major dance hubs and train with the industries best.

Since moving to Los Angeles, James has consistently been touring and working with the industries biggest recording artists such as Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, Camila Cabello, Gwen Stefani, Fergie, Eve, and Victoria Monèt.  In between weekly shows during his residency with The Backstreets Boys in their Las Vegas show “Larger Than Life”, James would travel back and forth to Los Angeles to work with brands like Nike, Target, Tide, Adidas, and Verizon Wireless on his days off from performing.  The VMA’s, The Grammy’s, and the NFL Kickoff, were some of his favorite live TV performances and in the feature film world, working with LeBron James in Space Jam 2 was an experience his teenage self is extremely proud of.  He has also worked on multiple performances for The Voice and The Masked Singer.

But James’ most special and personal moment came in February of 2017.  After years of dreaming, training, and endlessly remaining disciplined; he accomplished the primary reason he packed up his life and moved to Los Angeles for.  On the biggest night in Hollywood, The Academy Awards, he got his chance to perform with Justin Timberlake.Within a year of moving to LA, he was able to work with one of his dance idols and legends, Eddie Morales, on his first television gig with Mariah Carey. That was his first of many accomplishments. Since then he has performed for Missy Elliot, The Backstreet Boys, and one of his idols, Justin Timberlake. 

Through his desire to give back what he's learned to dancers who are just as hungry to perform as he is, he developed “C.A.M.P - Creating and Mastering Performance” and the “The Catalyst” mentorship program. 

James also realized he had a knack to work with people who wanted to improve not just in their specific craft, but in their mental resiliency.  Mindset training and discipline is what he attests to his success and fulfillment in the entertainment industry.  This led him to launch his company Subconscious Trends in 2019, with a mission to make self improvement the lifestyle.  He loves to devote large quantities of his seemingly endless energy to give students the extra push they might need to truly believe in themselves.  His attention to detail, athletic movement, and love for music drives his ability to create a great class and work environment.  While live performances are still his forte, he is inspired by all that the dance community has to offer and will continuously be pushing his boundaries in order to be the best creator, instructor, and dream facilitator that he can possibly be.

Follow him on Instagram @jamescombomarino