Pavan Thimmaiah

Pavan ‘PMT’ Thimmaiah, founder of PMT House of Dance (est. 2001), is an award-winning artist who broke with tradition to realize his dream of becoming a professional dancer. Pavan has since enjoyed a career highlighted by being the first Indian American to choreograph for a major recording artist and for network TV.  He has been featured in Dance Teacher Magazine, Dance Magazine, NY Times, Dance Europe, The Dance Gazette, Staten Island Advance & more.

Pavan is best known as the resident choreographer for the Today Show since 2010. Additionally, Pavan has choreographed for artists Vanilla Ice, Macy Gray, Harry Connick Jr, Alex Feder, Matt Palmer, Apache Indian, Zia Victoria, XYZ Affair & others. His other choreography credits include New Year’s Eve in Times Square, the Clio Award winning tribute to MCA of the Beastie Boys, 1st Place Apollo Champion (choreographer), Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central & MTV and NBA halftime shows since 2014.  He choreographed the first ever NY Fashion Week Runway show at the USS Intrepid for fashion designer Chi-Zhang.

Pavan’s proudest achievements have come through his work with the dance community as a practitioner, teacher and leader. He helped usher in Sessions and Jams as essential elements of dance education – with culture and history centermost in that effort. Those sessions are world renowned as a creative space for dancers to express, create and train. His collaborations with legends like Ken Swift, Don ‘Campbellock Campbell and James ‘Cricket’ Colter created opportunities for the Street Styles at a time when stereotypes lead many to avoid hosting and supporting these types of engagements. As a teacher and practitioner, he has helped students across the country. As faculty at NYU, New School University and guest faculty at UC Irvine & F&M College, he looks to continue to educate a new generation on the movement and history of Hip Hop. He continues to engage with the community through his classes at PMT House of Dance. His credits also include Peridance, Joffrey, Alvin Ailey Extension & schools nationwide. Proudly, he has mentored careers while ushering in countless dancers, of all backgrounds, to be inspired by the culture and energy of Hip Hop.

As the Artistic Director and Composer of PMT Dance Company, presented work for The International Dance Festival, the Canadian National Exhibition, the Bollywood Movie Awards & Sundance Channel’s “Young Revolutionaries”, & venues throughout the US and Canada.