About

The
Hole

"We believe that every project demands its own form."

the– hOle –studio is an independent dance, performance, and film company founded by Iranian artists Jaber Ramezan and Negar Nemati, based in Toronto. The studio develops original works that move between disciplines, cultures, and performance traditions.

15+
Years of Practice
3
Productions
3
Countries

Who We Are

the– hOle –studio is an independent dance, performance, and film company founded by Iranian artists Jaber Ramezan and Negar Nemati. Building on more than fifteen years of artistic practice across theatre, dance, film, and design, the studio develops original works that move between disciplines, cultures, and performance traditions.

Rooted in the experimental spirit of Tehran's independent arts scene and shaped by international collaborations across Europe and North America, the company brings together artists, performers, filmmakers, and designers to create contemporary works for stage and screen.

Led by Artistic Director Jaber Ramezan, the studio is driven by a search for new forms of performance and storytelling. Its projects emerge through research, collaboration, and experimentation, often crossing the boundaries between theatre, choreography, cinema, and visual design.

Land Acknowledgement

the– hOle –studio acknowledges that our work takes place on the traditional territories of many Indigenous Nations, including the Wendat, the Anishinaabeg, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. We recognize their enduring presence, stewardship, and relationships to this land, and we are committed to ongoing learning, respect, and meaningful dialogue.

Negar Nemati

Negar Nemati

Co-Founder & Costume Designer

Negar Nemati is an award-winning Iranian-Canadian costume designer working across film, theatre, and performance. With more than seventeen years of international experience, she has collaborated with some of the most acclaimed voices in contemporary cinema and theatre, including Asghar Farhadi, Mani Haghighi, Matthew Rankin, and Amir Reza Koohestani.

Her work is distinguished by a strong visual language, meticulous attention to detail, and a deep understanding of character, atmosphere, and storytelling. Nemati received the 2025 Canadian Screen Award for Achievement in Costume Design and the 2025 CAFTCAD Award for her work on Universal Language.

As co-founder of the– hOle –studio, Nemati brings a multidisciplinary approach to performance-making, combining visual design, dramaturgical thinking, and international collaboration to develop new contemporary works for stage and screen.

Website ↗
Jaber Ramezan

Jaber Ramezan

Co-Founder & Artistic Director

Jaber Ramezan is an Iranian-born playwright, director, and choreographer whose work explores the intersection of the personal and political through contemporary performance. Working across theatre, dance, and film, he investigates new dramaturgies and interdisciplinary approaches that blur the boundaries between narrative, movement, and visual composition.

Over the past fifteen years, his productions have been presented internationally across Iran, Europe, and Canada, including Swim Team at SummerWorks in Toronto and Boundaries of Bodies at Theatre de la Ville in Paris. A laureate of the Institut Francais x Cite internationale des arts residency in Paris, Ramezan also participated in Transmission Impossible, a choreographic research program at the 79th Festival d'Avignon.

He is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the– hOle –studio.

Website ↗

Our
Approach

01

Form First

We believe that every project demands its own form. Rather than working within fixed genres or disciplines, we approach creation as a process of research and discovery.

02

Memory & the Body

Influenced by contemporary performance, choreography, cinema, and documentary practices, we are interested in memory, spectatorship, the body, and the ways personal experience intersects with larger social and political realities.

03

International Exchange

Through performances, films, workshops, and artistic laboratories, the studio creates spaces for encounter, exchange, and creative risk-taking, connecting contemporary artistic voices across different geographies, disciplines, and communities.

Interested in presenting our work?

Get in Touch View Productions