We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kimberly Kong. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kimberly below.

Kimberly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I’ve made my living as a full time performer for 8 years. When I began this journey, I was a server at Olive Garden. I worked 1-2 performances a week. When I began booking more gigs weekly, I still held onto Olive Garden as a safety net, because the performance schedule can be very on call and inconsistent in the beginning. Sometimes you receive a booking the day of or day before. When you’re new in the industry, most of the time you’re called to fill in for a veteran performer until you earn a resident spot. I held onto the restaurant for about 6 months before finally letting it go and fully submersed into the world of entertainment as my sole source of income. I made myself available for as many bookings possible, resubmitted to castings with updated photos and resume to entertainment companies, and built relationships with performers I’d meet who referred me to more jobs.

An advice I have for creatives pursuing their passion as a full time career is to surround themselves with a supportive community. It’s important to find a support system you can be vulnerable with, one that genuinely cares to see you achieve your goals, and will be your hype squad in moments of insecurity throughout your journey. Also, don’t take anything personal, because it’s not.

I dont believe I could have sped up the process if I were to somehow know what I do now because there will always be room for mistakes and growth. You can tell people what to do but you can’t teach the the lessons they learn from experience, and every individual’s experience is different. People learn at different paces.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a performer who works music festivals globally and social media content creator. I entertain the masses and embody sensual confidence. My specialties are stilts, fire, lyra, and I have danced for Miami’s top nightlife venues music. I started gogo dancing at a bar called Shots in Wynwood 7 years ago, and my first club was Space Miami. I wanted to perform house music clubs to gain experience towards even larger productions like music festivals. I now perform for Ultra Music Festival.

My lyra journey began when I interned at an aerial studio in exchange for classes 8 years ago. I began stilt walking because a venue needed two female stilt walkers for NYE and I immediately said yes to the opportunity. I learned fire last year, it’s my most recent skill. I went to an aerial and fire retreat in Costa Rica where I learned fire, then continued practicing with the Miami fire community, and started booking fire performances within a month. I think my ability to be multi-faceted as a performer sets me apart from others. Now a days, I have been stepping more into the role of directing by coordinating performers for events and film projects.

What I am most proud of are the relationships I’ve nurtured and ability to connect the right people to each other within our network. There’s a lot of trust at hand when referring talent, and I appreciate those opportunities to bridge people together. Currently, I’m building an online performer course to teach aspiring artists how to pursue their dreams of performing as a job.

What I want people to know about my work is that I always say… I’m not the best performer, but I am a memorable performer. I didn’t get to where I am today by being the most skilled at my specialties. I make myself memorable to the team and audience. Put effort into genuine connection and be a considerate teammate. You can be advanced in your talent, but your energy is is felt by the room. That’s one way to continue attracting work as a performance artist.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A common fear amongst performers is losing our position once we’ve gained a residency. We’re scared that if we go out of town and become unavailable for too long, that our role will be passed on to another performer and our client will forget about us. But the truth is nothing is permanent in life, including our jobs. Clients can choose to let us go at any time because they simply want change, and it’s nothing personal.

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, I constantly traveled back and forth to see her in Atlanta while maintaining work in Miami. I had 5 consistent bookings weekly. I was afraid to lose my source of income if I became unavailable for too long. Eventually, I made the decision to stay in Atlanta to take care of mom and release the attachment to work. It was an internal struggle, because performance becomes embedded in your identity when it’s a deep passion combined with income, but my mother was a heart fulfilling priority. I left Miami for a year to take care of my mom until she passed away, and stayed in Atlanta for another few months to cope with my family. When I returned to Miami, I felt welcomed back by my community and picked up work right away.

If there’s a heartfelt calling that requires leaving, let intuition guide you through it. What’s meant for you will be for you. Upon returning, the structure may be different, but the foundation remains. Miami has always been a thriving mecca for entertainment. Have faith in your creative talents and what you’re building.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

When I first started my creative journey, my goal was to travel and perform for fantastic music festivals globally. While this is still a goal of mine, such as touring with Ultra Angels for Ultra Music Festival world wide, my intentions have evolved. I am currently working on an online performer course that will teach aspiring artists how to be top performer in Miami. I want my journey to inspire others to explore the path of learning creative skills and pursue their dreams of being an artist in however way it fulfills them. The path can seem intimidating from the start, but it’s absolutely doable, and you can be multifaceted. You learn to pick up new skills along the way. For me, it started with dancing, then stilts, lyra, fire, content creation… And now directing talent. I want people to know that you don’t need to be a master at a skill in order to start, because that wasn’t me. You learn along the way. I want to empower people to step into their creative goals, where ever they are in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kimkongofficial.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ms.kimkong
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mskimkong
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ms.kimkong
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ms.kimkong

Image Credits
Sean Pozin, Deyson Rodriguez, Eleana De Santo, Adinayev, Jay Pegg