Charm La'Donna Tells Creative Direction Students, "Follow Your First Mind" Tuesday, April 21, 2026
"My journey evolved with the help of others. If we have more environments like this, it’s just better for us as people and for the arts."
The HXOUSE and Point Park University Creative Direction Credential Program kicked off April 3 with two days of presentations and workshops with multi-disciplinary artist Charm La’Donna.
In the opening conversation, La’Donna spoke with Christopher Pandolfi of HXOUSE and took questions from the audience about her journey from dancer to choreographer to creative director, a role which oversees the vision of a creative project — the lighting, wardrobe, stage design, choreography and more.
“I’m a dancer first,” La’Donna said, “but by a young age, I knew I loved everything about putting on a show. I wanted to know everything about the performance — it’s not just the dance, it’s how it’s captured, it’s what the dancers are wearing.”
La'Donna, who has choreographed and creative directed dozens of concert tours and music videos for the biggest artists in the industry — not to mention three Super Bowl halftime shows — explained that a creative director is also an organizer and administrator. She gave an example of how she has had to coordinate practice schedules for up to 300 dancers while staying on budget.
La'Donna's Advice: "People Want to Work With Kind People"
La’Donna used examples from her extensive experience to teach audience members how to navigate a career in creative direction, while also offering advice.
“Follow your first mind,” she told them, saying that your first instinct is usually correct. And, she assured them, if it turns out you’ve got something wrong and make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world — a lesson she's learned with years of experience.
“When I was 25, I might have said, ‘No mistakes!’ but now I get that we all have our own opinions and make mistakes," she said. "I promise you, it’s okay.”
It's also okay to not know everything, she said. She explained how sometimes she simply describes the mood she's going for and collaborates with the lighting director or camera operator to create the effect, allowing her to learn the correct terminology and techniques in the moment.
In addition to practical advice, La’Donna offered pointers on how to handle oneself in the field, including being willing to serve wherever help is needed, even if it’s not technically “your job.”
“People want to work with kind people,” she said.
When she was coming up in the field, La’Donna was mentored by Fatima Robinson. Because she gained so much from her mentor, La’Donna is committed to mentoring herself, which brought her to the facilitator role in the Creative Direction workshop: “That’s why we’re here today. My journey evolved with the help of others. If we have more environments like this, it’s just better for us as people and for the arts."
Workshop Experience "Incredibly Inspiring and Motivating"
Following the opening session, the cohort participants spent the afternoon and the following day in workshops, where they worked in small groups to complete tasks similar to those creative directors must do, such as creating a brand for a fictional music artist.
The first cohort of 50 students was made up of current Point Park students, educators and other applicants from around the country. Students found the workshops inspiring and educational.
“This wasn’t just an event where I listened — I actually learned, applied what we were taught and used those tools while working on a creative brief with my group,” said Alexus Metayer, who holds a bachelor's from Point Park in broadcasting and is currently enrolled in the master's in multimedia program. “It gave me practical experience that I can carry with me moving forward.”
Morgan Barba, an MBA student with a concentration in Sports, Arts, Entertainment and Music Business, said, “This experience was incredibly inspiring and motivating. It challenged me to think bigger about how I approach projects and to consider how strategy, creativity and collaboration intersect in ways I hadn’t fully appreciated before.”
This was the first of four two-day workshops students in the credential program will complete over a year, each featuring a different professional with expertise in other categories of creative direction, including fashion, music and live entertainment.