Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Q Pittman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Q, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was somewhat forced to pursue it professionally, to be honest. After years of working in Press Relations at MTV, I was laid off and I had to figure out what was going to be my next move. Luckily, I was also teaching classes and doing dance jobs here and there on the side while working at MTV so getting laid off convinced me to turn my side hustle into the main hustle. It was definitely scary leaving the comforts and security of guaranteed income at MTV and transitioning to a profession where finding work was, in part, going to be left to luck and timing. The payoff, ultimately, was that I got to finally pursue a profession of passion rather than practicality.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an NYC-based choreographer/dance educator who moonlights as an audio/video producer as well. Working for years at MTV Communications provided me with innumerable opportunities (award shows, photo shoots, series promos) to work with artists in varied creative fields and broaden my skillset. Clients tend to hire me because of my ability to successfully take on several roles — hire me as a choreographer, but you also have a creative director, a stylist, an audio producer, a video editor and a writer with a public relations background at your disposal as well. What also sets me apart from others is my varied tastes in music which allows me to jump from a Kendrick Lamar hip hop class, or a BTS k-pop video project to a jazz piece based on the theme song of 90s sitcom “The Nanny” or working with kids on a reality dance competition show and choreographing figure skater programs. What I’m most proud of is being blessed to continue making a living doing what I love while both inspiring and learning from other artists. It’s not always easy to keep it lit, but my creative fire is still burning and whether it’s a passion project, my weekly classes at Broadway Dance Center, or a client reaching out to me to help them realize a vision, I am still in it to win it — it’s the QsNewz way!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best way society can support artists/creatives and contribute to a thriving creative ecosystem is to recognize the value of our talents and time and then compensate us accordingly!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

A story illustrating my resilience? Sure! Let’s hop in the Way Back Machine and travel back to a year ago: A producer I’ve worked with for years invited me to choreograph, once again, for her annual dance showcase. I was excited, given our decade long relationship, and I was looking forward to returning after a three year hiatus. Unfortunately, my piece was summarily dropped a week before the show amidst a haze of dubious excuses and a puzzling lack of accountability from the producer. I momentarily felt a heavy weight of defeat compounded by the shock of being treated so poorly by a colleague and the disappointment of a cast whose month long rehearsals seemed to all be for nothing. However I, along with my assistant helping me to move mountains, managed to conceptualize a show, secure a venue, videographer, and lighting director as well as launching marketing for a pop up performance in mere days. When all was said and done, we pulled off the Herculean task of creating a show (TWO sold out shows, to be precise) in a week’s time and my cast performed as originally planned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.qsnewz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/qsnewz/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@QsNewzTV
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/@qsnewzremixes4050

Image Credits

Q & Alicia Keys | Photo Credit: QsNewz
The Greatest Circus BTS | Photo Credit: CVR Photo
All Other Photos | Photo Credit: Cheeks Gallery