Founder & Choreographer

Jonathan Hollander

In 1995, he produced 'PURUSH: Expressions of Man', employing Indian classical dance forms and American modern dance to focus attention on the role of the Man in dance. His 1995 production of 'Songs of Tagore' incorporates the vocal music of Rabindranath Tagore and a commissioned score by Gerald Cohen. Both pieces have been presented across the U.S. 'Songs of Tagore' has been presented in Poland and Hungary, and was the centerpiece of the Company's 17-city tour of India and Sri Lanka in 1997, the most extensive South Asian tour ever by an American dance company.

His collaborations with Finnish composers Eero Hämeenniemi and Frank Carlberg have also been performed widely throughout the World. Hollander choreographed Hämeenniemi's orchestral score 'Layapriya' in 1997 and '4-Way Intersection' for the jazz ensemble NADA in 1998. Hollander's collaboration with composer Frank Carlberg, 'Zero...Two...Blue...Heaven...Seven', was commissioned by Meet the Composer, and has been presented in national tours of Finland and Poland under the auspices of the American Embassies in Helsinki and Warsaw. 'Mother Goose', a second collaboration with Carlberg, was performed throughout India in 2001. Hollander has created works on commission for the Indian classical dance companies Anjali (Houston, TX) and Nrityanjali in Boston, with original music by the Carnatic Trio and Frank Carlberg, respectively.

Hollander has played a leadership role in the Downtown Manhattan community, and is a founder of Downtown Dance Partners, a coalition of dance companies located south of Canal Street. He co-founded the Indo-American Arts Council, a national service organization, on whose Board he serves.