Emily Molnar – Tanz interview

cover photo: Sacha Grootjans

Collective thinker

Emily Molnar has been Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague since 2020. She speaks to Hartmut Regitz about shaping a contemporary identity for the world-class company.

Since its founding in 1959, Nederlands Dans Theater, or NDT, has been one of the most important driving forces in the development of dance in the Netherlands. It has always had renowned directors, including Jiří Kylián and Paul Lightfoot. Where does your focus lie?

Over the past six years as Artistic Director of NDT, I have been thinking about what defines this company, how it can continue to evolve while remaining true to its origins. NDT has always been driven by a spirit of innovation, risk-taking and choreographic curiosity. My role is to carry this forward as a living force, continually renewed by each new generation of artists.

Our focus has shifted towards research, development and experimentation, creating space for new ways of thinking about dance. This means seeing the company not simply as a repertoire structure, but as a creative ecosystem where ideas are developed collectively, authorship is shared and artistic identity remains fluid.

What changes have you made?

One of the central questions is how a company with a 65-year history can remain young for 65 years and retain a beginner's curiosity while continuing to honour its tradition. It is not about breaking with the past, but about how we carry the past into the present and keep it alive.

That same thinking is reflected in the decision to move away from the resident choreographer model. In reality, however, this is not a departure, but a return to NDT's original impulse as a place for multiple voices. From the beginning, the company was shaped by collective exchange and choreographic diversity, and these are principles we consciously want to bring to life again today.

Unlike your predecessors, you don't choreograph yourself and your role is more that of a curator.

The role of Artistic Director has changed significantly. At the beginning of my career, artistic leadership was often defined by a single choreographic voice. Today, the role is much broader and encompasses artistic, organisational and interpersonal dimensions. To do this well requires continuous attention across all of these areas. It would be difficult to choreograph extensively alongside that responsibility without inevitably having to compromise somewhere.

My role is to shape and realise the artistic vision of the company. This means curating the repertoire, commissioning new work and creating a programme that is balanced, diverse, coherent and responsive to the present. It also means working closely with dancers, choreographers and the entire NDT team to support the complete creative process, from studio to stage.

When I arrived at NDT in 2020, our focus was on navigating change, building trust and dealing with Covid-19. During those first years, my time in the studio was very limited, and I felt that distance. Remaining closely connected to the dancers is still extremely important to me. That proximity keeps my artistic leadership grounded in the work itself.

Emily Molnar leans on a railing in a bright space, portrait of artistic director in black attire.

Another change is that the company is now led by a woman. To what extent does that matter?

I wouldn't focus so much on the idea of a “woman at the top”, but rather on the broader evolution of leadership and how it is practised. What interests me is how leadership can function within a creative system, moving away from a top-down hierarchy towards a more collaborative and open form of leadership.

That means being present in the studio and remaining in continuous dialogue with artists and teams. The process becomes just as important as the product. This is where thinking happens, where collaboration and artistic language take shape. Curiosity is essential in this context: you have to remain open, embrace uncertainty and allow it to inform your decisions.

At the same time, there is a need to diversify who holds leadership positions and to include a broader range of voices, including more women in artistic leadership. I am committed to supporting that.

Thanks to the resident choreographers who were already working here before your appointment, Marco Goecke and Crystal Pite, there is a certain continuity.

Since 2020, more than 30 dance artists have made their choreographic debut with NDT, while we have maintained long-term relationships with Associate Choreographers Crystal Pite and Marco Goecke, as well as many other established artists. This balance between continuity and development allows the company to go deeper while remaining open and responsive.

I'm also incredibly excited that we have expanded our group of Associate Choreographers to include Marcos Morau, Jermaine Spivey and Imre & Marne van Opstal.

Standing dancer gesturing above tightly gathered ensemble

What motivates you to engage a choreographer? Does anyone else have a say?

I am in constant dialogue with artists, and ideas emerge through encounters with their work, through processes in the studio and through relationships that develop over time. Choosing a choreographer is always a considered and deliberate process.

I look for artists with a distinctive choreographic voice, who have strong craft, are willing to take risks and think expansively. I am drawn to those who have something urgent to say, who see the body as a site for research and expression, who question form and explore new territory with the company.

Alignment is equally important: how an artist's thinking relates to NDT's values and direction, how open they are to experimentation and how capable they are of collaboration. My aim is to bring together established and emerging voices from diverse backgrounds and choreographic languages, so that the repertoire is defined by both contrast and breadth.

How has NDT's choreographic portfolio developed?

Over the past six years, we have not only built lasting relationships with artists such as Sharon Eyal, Ohad Naharin, Gabriela Carrizo and Hofesh Shechter, and welcomed William Forsythe back to NDT, but also introduced an entire group of new dance artists, including Christos Papadopoulos, Jan Martens, Marcos Morau, Noé Soulier and Tao Ye. They all bring a distinctive language, but more importantly, they all expand and deepen our artistic landscape.

Trying something means taking a risk. And that doesn't always pay off. Not every collaboration is equally well received. That is simply part of the nature of a creation-based company. At NDT, risk is not the exception; it is built into the structure. Work can evolve here in real time.

This approach also extends to artistic exchange and new partnerships, which are equally central to the direction of the company. Figures in Extinction, created with Crystal Pite, Simon McBurney and Complicité, is one example. Developed over four years, it carries an ecological urgency and has received international recognition. Sharon Eyal's reworking of Into the Hairy, expanded with dancers from NDT 1 and S-E-D, similarly demonstrates what becomes possible when distinct artistic worlds enter into sustained dialogue.

Duet featuring an intricate lift, taut lines and trust in a powerful partnering sequence

When it comes to development and support, what about the personal development and potential of the dancers?

An important part of this development is creating career pathways for dance artists at different stages of their careers. Through initiatives such as the Up & Coming Lab and Micro Residencies, we have created environments where research and experimentation take precedence over quick results.

These pathways now encompass many different formats, from labs and medium- and large-scale productions to site-specific work and digital projects, allowing ideas to develop under the conditions they require.

Supporting artists means listening carefully: what does this particular idea need? In what environment can it best grow? It also means supporting dancers within the company who are interested in choreography, and nurturing new voices alongside established ones. We have an internal scouting committee and an open application platform where artists can introduce their work and connect with the company.

Against this background, how do NDT's tradition and innovation come together?

Our work is aligned with NDT's legacy. We continue to perform works by Jiří Kylián because his legacy serves as a living language that can be reinterpreted by new dancers and seen anew by new audiences.

Our aim is not preservation, but continuity through development. We want to maintain the integrity of the company while creating fertile ground for new artistic developments.

Dancer on tiptoes with arched back and raised arm, strong side lighting on a dark stage.

I don't come from within NDT's institutional environment, and that outside perspective is significant. In short, I began as a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and then worked closely with William Forsythe at Ballet Frankfurt, an environment I experienced as an inspiring place of continuous research.

I later spent many years working as a freelance dancer and choreographer. After that, I led Ballet BC, repositioning the company as a driving force for innovation, commissioning more than 45 new works and working to build the company's international presence.

All of those experiences continue to shape how I see NDT today: as a living organism rather than a fixed structure.

NDT began streaming during the pandemic and, unlike other companies, has continued to do so regularly. What has your experience been?

Expanding our digital offering through streaming has been an important development during my time at NDT. What began during the pandemic has evolved into a permanent part of our artistic programming.

We have continued streaming not as a replacement for live performance, but as an extension of it: an additional space in which choreography can be experienced differently, and globally.

Hasn't that affected ticket sales for live performances?

Audiences for live performances have not suffered as a result. If anything, we have sparked curiosity. People who first encounter a work digitally often come to see it live afterwards. And the reverse is equally true: people who have attended a live performance often want to watch it again digitally, to see the work from different perspectives and discover subtle details that can sometimes be harder to see from the auditorium.

At the same time, streaming naturally allows us to reach people who might never be able to attend a performance in person, whether for geographical or financial reasons. Seen in that way, streaming expands the audience rather than dividing it. It has also significantly extended the company's geographical reach, to more than 100 countries.

Performer drags body across stage floor as another reclines in chair

The criteria are both artistic and practical. Not every work is suited to the camera, and not every choreography can be meaningfully translated into a digital format. There are also rights and contractual considerations involving particular artists, so every decision is made collectively.

Over time, we have developed a dedicated team specialising in digital capture and distribution, ensuring that digital work is not simply an add-on but an integral part of our philosophy. Financially, streaming was never intended to become a major source of revenue. Its value lies in accessibility and in expanding our relationships with new audiences around the world.

There are still NDT 1 and the junior company NDT 2, although in terms of programming it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between them.

Within the structure of the company, NDT 1 and NDT 2 continue to function as connected yet distinct artistic environments. NDT 1 works with more established dancers, while NDT 2 provides a space for emerging dancers who are still discovering their artistic voice. They therefore represent different stages of artistic development.