about NVA

Born outside of London, UK in 1988, and grew up in both Hong Kong and Switzerland, Nicole von Arx (she/her) is an immigrant dance artist now based in Brooklyn, USA. Whether it's theatre, dance, opera, or film, Nicole’s works have a highly emotional and dramatic drive. She is inspired to create storytelling works where the viewer is welcome to either sit back or lean in and participate.  

She has been invited to present her works at The Joyce Theatre, Stanford Live, The New Victory Theatre, Joe’s Pub, the Newmark Theatre, Judson Memorial Church, le Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, Théâtre Nuithonie, Triskelion Arts, Théâtre de Grand Champ, Luminato Festival Theatre am Gleis, The Westside Theatre, the Center for Performance Research, The Ailey Citigroup Theatre, The Museum of Moving Images, Sam Houston State University, and TACAW.

Nicole has received choreographic commissions from NW Dance Project, D.A.F Dance Arts Faculty, Sam Houston State University, Limón2, the Edmonton Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Whim W’Him, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, SALT2, Brooklyn Ballet and the LINK Choreography Festival (2023 &2025).

She is a 2020 recipient of The Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship At Jacob’s Pillow. She is also a 2025 Danse Mirage Foundation grant recipient, 2024-2025 & 2025-2026 CUNY Dance Initiative Artist in Residence at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater At John Jay College and at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 2025 & 2024 Brooklyn Arts Council grant recipient, 2025 & 2023 NYSCA grant recipient, 2023 JCAL Major Commission artist recipient, GLUE 2023 artists in residence, 2022 Dance Initiative artist in residence, 2022 Leimay Incubator, 2020 Lauréate of a Gland Culture Grant, and a 2025 finalist of the Princess Grace Award for Choreography.

She’s been a recent guest teaching artist at SUNY Purchase, NYU Tisch Dance, Boston Conservatory of Dance at Berklee, GibneyPro, Brigham Young University, Sam Houston State University and The University of Montana.  

As a performer, she has performed and toured with Carte Blanche - The Norwegian National Company for Contemporary Dance under the direction of Bruno Hendrickx , Bryan Arias, The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Chicago Lyric Opera, Company XIV, Loni Landon Dance Projects, and Romeo Castellucci. 

Since 2014, she's been creating under the name NVA & Guests.

Other credits include creating for: V Magazine, Bombay Sapphire, K-Way, Target, and Kate Spade.

Photos by Jim Lafferty

(edited September 2025)