Volmir Cordeiro

Volmir Cordeiro (born 1987) holds a doctorate in dance from Paris 8 University. He initially studied theatre before working with Brazilian choreographers Alejandro Ahmed, Cristina Moura and Lia Rodrigues. In 2011, he joined the “Essais” programme at the National Centre for Contemporary Dance (CDNC) in Angers, under the direction of Emmanuelle Huynh, where he obtained a masters in performance and choreography. In Europe he has performed in productions by Xavier Le Roy, Laurent Pichaud & Rémy Héritier, Emmanuelle Huynh, Jocelyn Cottencin, Vera Mantero, Zeena Parkings & Nadia Lauro and Latifa Laâbissi.

As a choreographer, his first cycle was composed of three solo works: Sky (2012, created at the Angers CDNC), Inês (2014, created at the Actoral Festival in Marseilles) and Street (2015, created at the Louvre museum in collaboration with the Paris International Contemporary Art Fair – FAIC). In February of 2017, he choreographed a piece for four dancers: “The eye, the mouth and the rest”, in Brest, France. At that time, he also created a video installation of the same title on the poetics of the face in the history of dance for the Passerelle contemporary art centre, as part of the 40 th anniversary celebrations for the Centre Pompidou.

In 2019, Volmir Cordeiro created Sidewalk, a work for six dancers, presented at the Actoral Festival in Marseilles and the Paris Autumn Festival. And at this same festival, in 2021, he presents the Metropolis duo with percussionist Philippe Foch. Based on an invitation from Lia Rodrigues, he created the solo Outrar, in 2021 for the Kunstenfestivaldesarts. In 2021, Volmir revisited the Ballets Suédois, a dadaist dance troupe based at the Théâtre de Champs-Elysées from 1920-25, with his new performance Erosion, created for the Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy National Choreography Centre. That same year, he performed an excerpt from The eye the mouth and the rest for Cie Catalyse, a troupe of professional actors with disabilities, as part of the Vignette(s) project directed by Bernardo Montet.

In 2023, Volmir created Shelter, a piece for eight performers including a bassophonist, as part of the Biennale du Val de Marne, in Vitry, as well as Queimada, a creation for thirty-three performers at the University of Poitiers in collaboration with the TAP-Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers. In 2024, he will create a piece for students at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Paris, as well as a work for students training with the ABC Atlantique Ballet Contemporain at the Conservatoire de Musique et Danse de La Rochelle. He is preparing his next creation with his Cie Donna Volcan for Autumn 2025.

He teaches regularly in choreography programmes, such as the Exerce Master (ICI-CCN Montpellier,France) and the Drama Master (Kask Conservatorium, Gand, Belgium), P.A.R.T.S. (Brussels), the Ménagerie de Verre (Paris) and also during the Camping Festival at the Pantin National dance centre. He was a guest artist-teacher at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, for two months of teaching.

He is the author of “Ex-Corpo”, a book on the notion of the artist-researcher, a continuation of his doctoral research at Paris 8 University, which he completed in November of 2018.

His company Donna Volcan takes the notion of the volcano, which combines earth, air, fire and vital force, as the basis for creation. It is supported by the Regional directorate for cultural affairs .

In 2021, Cordeiro won the SACD Society of Author’s prize for young choreographers.