Engineering a Career in the Arts

Our conversation with choreographer and director Kitty McNamee is a masterclass in how an arts career actually gets built: through access, timing, community, and a willingness to make your own opportunities. She describes growing up in a small town in Ohio where movie musicals were her main window into dance, then seeing a touring performance that felt like a “bolt of lightning.” That moment highlights a core arts entrepreneurship truth: talent is everywhere, but access is not. When artists finally encounter live work, mentors, training, or a pathway into the field, the entire trajectory can change, even if they start “late” by industry standards. 

Kitty’s story also shows how creative momentum can be engineered. With only a short time of formal training, she auditions for a performing arts high school in Houston, gets in, and keeps moving forward through college, New York, and eventually Los Angeles. In LA she realizes performance isn’t the right fit, but choreographing for theater is. That pivot becomes the bridge from employee mindset to creator mindset: choreographing leads to producing, and producing leads to authorship. Her decision to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival forces an entrepreneurial leap, because participation requires a company, so she forms one. Hysterica Dance Company becomes a DIY engine where she casts, produces, markets, coordinates, and learns the full value chain of making art work. 

A major theme is how creative work is hired and sustained over decades. Kitty explains that much of her choreography work now comes from return clients and long-term relationships, including major institutions like LA Opera and the LA Philharmonic. For working artists, this is career stability: word of mouth, trust, and a reputation for professionalism. She also notes the shift in how commercial choreography gets sourced. Where agents once controlled most access to gigs, social media and direct outreach increasingly connect producers to artists, though agents still matter for negotiations, contracts, and making sure artists get paid, especially when projects have loose controls or higher risk. 

The most practical segment for dancers and creative entrepreneurs is the discussion of contracts, copyright, and ownership. Kitty lays out the reality that most choreography is “work for hire,” meaning the organization often owns what the choreographer creates. She connects this to union protection through groups like SDC for theater, and AGMA for opera, and explains why residuals and royalties can be uneven across film, TV, and stage. A striking detail is how choreographers have historically been under-credited, even in industry databases, and why credit and classification matter for leverage. She closes by contrasting audience expectations: opera and symphony work are guided by story, music, and institution, while dance film and independent work offer full creative control with higher risk, reminding artists that freedom, money, and ownership rarely arrive in the same package.
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Kitty’s story also shows how creative momentum can be engineered. With only a short time of formal training, she auditions for a performing arts high school in Houston, gets in, and keeps moving forward through college, New York, and eventually Los Angeles. In LA she realizes performance isn’t the right fit, but choreographing for theater is. That pivot becomes the bridge from employee mindset to creator mindset: choreographing leads to producing, and producing leads to authorship. Her decision to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival forces an entrepreneurial leap, because participation requires a company, so she forms one. Hysterica Dance Company becomes a DIY engine where she casts, produces, markets, coordinates, and learns the full value chain of making art work. 

A major theme is how creative work is hired and sustained over decades. Kitty explains that much of her choreography work now comes from return clients and long-term relationships, including major institutions like LA Opera and the LA Philharmonic. For working artists, this is career stability: word of mouth, trust, and a reputation for professionalism. She also notes the shift in how commercial choreography gets sourced. Where agents once controlled most access to gigs, social media and direct outreach increasingly connect producers to artists, though agents still matter for negotiations, contracts, and making sure artists get paid, especially when projects have loose controls or higher risk. 

The most practical segment for dancers and creative entrepreneurs is the discussion of contracts, copyright, and ownership. Kitty lays out the reality that most choreography is “work for hire,” meaning the organization often owns what the choreographer creates. She connects this to union protection through groups like SDC for theater, and AGMA for opera, and explains why residuals and royalties can be uneven across film, TV, and stage. A striking detail is how choreographers have historically been under-credited, even in industry databases, and why credit and classification matter for leverage. She closes by contrasting audience expectations: opera and symphony work are guided by story, music, and institution, while dance film and independent work offer full creative control with higher risk, reminding artists that freedom, money, and ownership rarely arrive in the same package.