Directors
Kitty McNamee
From opera to pop, Kitty embraces each new project with wit, grace and unique style. Her ability to draw sophisticated, engaging performances from superbly trained dancers, as seen in her opera and concert work, is matched by her sensitive approach to "non" movers. Kitty specializes in developing a creative exchange with performers, which encourages them to blossom and achieve their full movement potential.
Kitty recently choreographed several episodes of 90210 and a new Proactiv campaign featuring up and coming star Julianne Hough. She also choreographed and co-directed a music video for the alternative band Hecuba and staged a Hexbug commercial for Rockhard films. Her choreography has been seen on The L Word, videos for the Mexican pop band kinky, industrials for SONY and on SONY’S Anytime With Bob Kushell for Crackle TV. Recent work includes La Traviata for LA Opera and her debut with San Francisco Opera. Last season Kitty choreographed Man Of La Mancha for Reprise!, returned to Disney Hall for a new production of Wing on Wing and premiered the evening length contemporary piece crust for Hysterica Dance Co. Other work ranges from La Rondine (with Patrica Racette) at LA Opera, Symphonie Fantastique and Wing on Wing for LA Philharmonic, Margaret Cho’s off-Broadway smash Sensuous Woman, La Traviata (Renee Fleming and Rolando Villazon) and Don Carlo for LA Opera and Ms. McNamee's debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her choreography has been seen in the Ovation Awards with Neil Patrick Harris, DanceBreak, Sondheim’s 75th at the Hollywood Bowl (Vanessa Williams), Romeo et Juliette (Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon) at LA Opera, Wave Rising Festival in NY and in 365 days/365 plays.
Ms. McNamee is the also the artistic director of Hysterica Dance Co., a creative, consistently prolific, and invigorating force in the LA dance community. Recent highlights with Hysterica include crust at the unknown theater, hysterica x (celebrating it’s 10th anniversary) at the ford amphitheatre, the L-word, Studio at REDCAT, Margaret Cho @ El-Cid, Fashion Week/NYC, a commission to create two new works for Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a performance at Disney Hall with the LA Philharmonic and a commission from Erato Philharmonia.
Hysterica Dance Co. has performed extensively in the Southland and nationally at the Joyce Soho (dancenow/NYC), the Manhattan School of Music, d.u.m.b.o. dance festival NY, WHITE WAVE Performance Space NY, and at Helm’s Fine Arts Center in Austin, TX. California performances include studio @ REDCAT, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Ford Amphitheatre, LACMA, Highways Performance Space, Brand Library, Alex Theater, Sushi Performance and Visual Art Gallery in San Diego, James Armstrong Theater, Cal State Northridge and the Choreography Under the Stars Festival in Palm Springs. The company has been featured in articles in Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles Daily News, Coast Magazine, Daily Candy, New York Magazine and Frontiers, and has been a top ten pick in Los Angeles Magazine. Hysterica Dance Co. was nominated for a Lester Horton Award for ‘Best Performance by a Company” for their July 2002 performance of “Sticks & Stones” at the Ford Amphitheatre and again for their performance in “Split” in April 2005 and “Rapture” in 2007.
Ryan Heffington
Ryan Heffington equally fulfills titles of Performing Artist, Choreographer, Designer, Promoter and Dance Guru. Since his ascension into Los Angeles in 1991 from northern California, Ryan has accumulated stellar credit in commercial, highbrow and underground circles performing in Internationally recognized National Galleries, Television shows and in some of the grittiest clubs around the world. He has been described as “… a mad Bob Fosse with a sewing machine” and “Martha Graham on meth….” by the LA Times and “A fucking genius” by Blackbook Magazine.
High art enthusiasts have experienced his electrifying work at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Walt Disney Concert Hall, L.A. County Museum of Art, Hammer Museum and L..A.C.E. gallery where he instructed an interactive dance performance.
Ryan has over 10 music videos under his dance belt in which “Tonight’s Today” by Jack Penate, Directed by Alma H’arel was nominated for Best Video by UK MVA’s 2009. Other video credits include The Gossip, Shiny Toy Guns, Beirut, Nikka Costa as well as performing live with Ladytron, Peaches, Fischerspooner and Black Eyed Peas for “So You Think You Can Dance” He has appeared on Rupaul’s Drag Race for 2 seasons, choreographed an episode of the “L Word”, played a flamboyant hairdresser in “Legally Blonde” with Reese Witherspoon and performed in drag as “Dirty Diana” in Margaret Cho’s off broadway show “The Sensuous Woman”.
Mr. Heffington is Co-Artistic Director of critically acclaimed Hysterica Dance Company who in 2008 celebrated 10 years of raw, rapturous dance in Los Angeles. Part punk with technique to die for and imagery worthy of high fashion magazines, Hysterica remains on the cutting edge of what is dance today. Ryan was nominated for Best Male Performer, Best Small Group Ensemble and Costume Design by the Horton Awards for his work with Hysterica.
Under the clothing design alias Sir Heffington, he is the master of costume for the dance. The self taught seamster has designed for dance and theater companies nation wide, network television, film and super-celebs like Britney Spears, Mick Jagger and Beck.
Ryan’s site-specific dance–based projects “House Party” and “Sex On A String” escaped the predictability of performance and performance space by bringing dance out of the gallery/theater and instead lured over 300 audience members through parks, homes and streets of Los Angeles. A museum tour within forest depths or backyard red-light district, this roaming installation redefined for many dance in Los Angeles.
Keeping an existence in both commercial and underground cultures is essential for Heffington as an artist. His sold-out monthly dance parties Sock-it, Fingered and now Full Frontal Disco have included dance classes, contemporary-punk mini dance concerts and always some off-the-hook-sweat-fest-dancefloor-foolery. Fingered (2007/2008) is where Ryan first infused dance class into his parties, sparking the idea for Sweaty Sundays – Dance Class for Everyone. Trading cocktail glasses for water bottles, he now offers 3 sold-out classes a week in the heart of Silverlake, Ca.
In 2008, Ryan along with 3 others founded the Dance/Music collective WE ARE THE WORLD. On stage this highly designed masked foursome jump between instruments, vocals and choreography. Within a short year they toured Europe and in the U.S. opened for Yelle, Ticky and CSS. Their full length debut album “Clay Stones” is due to be released early 2010 with Manimal Records.
