Emily Molnar

Emily Molnar has been Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) since August 2020, leading the company into a new era of creativity. Under her direction, NDT has embraced a dynamic artistic vision, commissioning over 30 new voices and fostering ambitious, award-winning collaborations. These include Figures in Extinction, created with associate choreographer Crystal Pite and Simon McBurney/Complicité, and a renewed version of Into the Hairy with S-E-D. Molnar has also expanded NDT’s circle of associate choreographers, originally including Crystal Pite and Marco Goecke, by inviting Marcos Morau, Jermaine Spivey, and Marne van Opstal & Imre van Opstal.

Molnar has worked and toured extensively worldwide as an internationally respected and critically acclaimed dance artist, choreographer, mentor, arts advocate, and leader. After graduating from Canada’s National Ballet School in 1990, she pursued a performance career with the National Ballet of Canada and Ballet BC, and as a soloist with Ballett Frankfurt under the direction of William Forsythe.

From 2009 to 2020, Molnar served as Artistic Director of Ballet BC, where her commitment to innovation and collaboration led to the creation of more than 45 new works and brought the company to international prominence. She also served for five years as Artistic Director of Dance at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Her contributions have been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions. In 2016, Molnar was named a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honours, for her contributions to dance.