Tobin Rothlein's body of work as a dance, video and performance artist explores the intersections of video, live performance and the visual arts with an emphasis on movement. For the past decade his work in the dance and performance field has set out to redefine the use of video art in conjunction with the human body. A 2006 Pew Fellow in Performance Art, his work has been presented internationally at venues including the Clore Theatre of London's Royal Opera House, Holland's Noorderzon festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Holland's National Theatre in Amsterdam, England's Battersea Arts Center, and The Whitney Museum of American Art.  Rothlein's films have been broadcast on public television in Philadelphia and California and presented at Anthology Film Archives, Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, The Forrest Theater, the Peabody Essex Museum, the BBC London Short Film Festival, and taken on tour with Dance on Camera Film Festival throughout North America. Rothlein has been awarded an Independence Foundation Fellowship and two Dance Advance awards for his exploration into interdisciplinary performance work.

Rothlein was introduced to dance, theatre and opera as a student of music at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. He studied theatre and film at Kalamazoo College, leading him ultimately to couple his interest in the live arts with his passion for film and the visual arts.  In 1991, Rothlein attended Beijing Language Institute, where he studied Mandarin Chinese and Chinese arts and culture. He returned to Asia several times, to work for MTV Asia and to produceand direct the documentary film Eyes of the Storm (1997).

In addition to many works with Phrenic New Ballet and Miro, Rothlein's collaborationsinclude Facing Mekka with Hip Hop pioneer Rennie Harris, and multiple works with London artists Carol Brown, Pete Wyer, and Mathew Sharp, including the contemporary operas Adam's Apple and Cremenville. Rothlein was a founding member and co-artistic director of Phrenic New Ballet from 2000 - 2005, and is co-founder and producing artistic director of Miro Dance Theatre.