Emma Portner
The actor, dancer and director-choreographer has been recognized for her unique and “almost-paranormal” ability. Emma Portner's dance training was influenced by summer courses at the National Ballet of Canada and in 2012, Emma moved to New York City to study at The Ailey School. Soon thereafter, she choreographed the musical BAT OUT OF HELL, making her the youngest woman in history to choreograph a musical on London’s West End. Before the age of 20, she’d garnered millions of international views through dance on film and worked with some of the music industry’s biggest names including Maggie Rogers, Blood Orange, FKA Twigs, and Sylvan Esso.
Her most recent work includes collaborations with Apple, Netflix, Vogue, Adidas, The Norwegian National Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Sony Studios, and indie music stars. Emma’s work has been featured by the Guggenheim Museum, Jacob's Pillow, New York City Center and Théâtre Champs-Élysées, to name a few. She has been hailed as “beguiling” by the NY Times and was listed as one of Paper Magazine’s “100 people to watch in 2019".
Most recently, Emma’s work Bathtub Ballet premiered to critical acclaim at the Royal Swedish Opera and her ballet islands shared a tour with quintessential choreographers Crystal Pite, Jiří Kylián and Ohad Naharin with the National Ballet of Canada. Emma’s work for Göteborg Danskompani Forever, Maybe premiered to critical acclaim in Spring 2024. Emma portrayed Gozer the Gozerian in Ghostbusters: AFTERLIFE and stars in A24’s festival darling I SAW THE TV GLOW (2024) directed by Jane Schoenbrun.
