McIntyre trained at North Carolina School of the Arts and Houston Ballet Academy. In 1989, McIntyre was appointed Choreographic Apprentice to Houston Ballet, a position created especially for him, and in 1995 he became the company’s Choreographic Associate. McIntyre has worked for twenty-four years as a freelance choreographer, producing close to one hundred pieces during the span of his career so far.
In 2005, McIntyre founded his dance company, Trey McIntyre Project, which first appeared at the Vail International Dance Festival. The company was initially a summer touring company, but its national and international success led McIntyre to establish the company year-round as of 2008, based in Boise, Idaho. TMP has been featured in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, and on PBS NewsHour, and has earned coast-to-coast acclaim from the likes of Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, People Magazine, and more. In 2013, Trey McIntyre Project expanded its artistic vision and announced a crowdsourced documentary film entitled Ma Maison. The project was announced on Kickstarter on August 7, 2013, and in November, 2013, McIntyre went to New Orleans to begin filming.
McIntyre is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Choo San Goh Award for Choreography and a Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Society of Arts and Letters, as well as two grants for choreography from the National Endowment for the Arts. His works have been performed by companies such as Stuttgart Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, New York City Ballet, The Washington Ballet, and Oregon Ballet Theatre.