Holly Wilder (she/her) is a Brooklyn based performing artist, choreographer, and filmmaker. She is also a 1,600 hour AMSAT Certified Alexander Technique teacher. Named by Dance Magazine as one of “nine screen dance artists you should know about”, she is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the award-winning dance film company, Wilder Project.
She began her dance training at the age of three at D’Valda and Sirico Dance and Music Center in Connecticut, competing nationally with their student company. Before high school, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri and continued her training at the Center of Creative Arts. There she was mentored by Alvin Ailey's Alicia Graf and was a member of two pre-professional dance companies, performing work by world-renowned choreographers such as Robert Battle, Anthony Tudor, Trey McIntyre, Camille A. Brown, Darrell Grand Moultrie, John Lehrer, and Kirven Boyd. She is a recipient of COCA’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Holly later graduated Summa Cum Laude from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance. She is a recipient of the Julie Ince Thompson and Jan Veen scholarship awards and the Alumni Award for Academic Achievement, earning the second highest academic rank in her graduating class. While at the Conservatory, Holly performed work by Karole Armitage, Adam Barruch, Claudia LaVista, and Danny Burcazeski, among others. Three of her own works were also performed on the Conservatory’s main stage.
Holly studied at summer programs like Jacob's Pillow, Batsheva’s Gaga Intensive in Israel, The Movement Invention Project, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Perry-Mansfield.
Some of her professional performance credits include the national tour of Debbie Allen’s musical Brothers of the Knight, Grease with Royal Caribbean International, and regional productions of A Chorus Line, West Side Story, An American In Paris, Rock of Ages, Beauty And The Beast, A Christmas Story, On The Town, A Christmas Carol, and Sentimental Journey. She has also been a lead performer in 6 different music videos.
She founded her dance film company, Wilder Project, with her cinematographer brother Duncan in 2015. They have since created 20 dance films which have screened at over 50 film festivals on 5 continents winning 12 awards. Their most screened film The Field is an official selection of 26 festivals and received First Place at Verve Dance Film Festival and Richmond Dance Festival, as well as Audience Favorite Award at Opine Dance Film Festival and Best Director at Utah Dance Film Festival. They have received music video commissions from artists like Jennah Bell, Jean Rohe, Stephanie Allen, and Bolivian pop star Luis Gamarra, and a film commission from Berklee School of Music.
The company has performed live at Battery Dance Festival and INSITU Site Specific Dance Festival and venues like the Wild Project in NYC and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Aside from festivals, their films have screened at venues like the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Museum of the Moving Image in NYC. Holly was Artist In Residence at the Balance Arts Center in Manhattan in 2020 and spent two years on the jury of the LA Dance Film Festival. Wilder Project has been featured in Dance Magazine, The Boston Globe, Curve Magazine, Arts Atlanta, and Cultural Weekly, among others.
Holly has taught dance on faculty at Dance Management in NJ and Westchester Ballet Center and Armonk Center for Dance in NY. Her choreography has won awards at dance competitions across the tristate area. She is also an AMSAT Certified Alexander Technique teacher. She graduated from the Balance Arts Center in Manhattan under the direction of master teacher, Ann Rodiger.