Deborah Colker
It was not merely by chance that restlessness and a love of cultural diversity became features of Deborah Colker’s work. Raised in the solitude of classic piano study and the excitement of a collective sport – volleyball, the Rio born choreographer was initiated into contemporary dance by Uruguayan Graciela Figueiroa and her group Coringa, famous in Rio de Janeiro in the 1980s. In 1984, at the invitation of Dina Sfat, an actress of mythological contours in Brazilian theater, she started what was to become the principal element of her career for the next ten years – director of movement – a title especially coined for her by stage director Ulysses Cruz, to underline the relevance of her share in the final results of dozens of theatrical productions in which she collaborated during this period. The title, which was later incorporated into Brazilian theatrical jargon, can also be applied precisely to her role, for example, in creating movements for the dog characters in TV Colosso – a landmark in Brazilian children’s TV programs in the 1990s.
Before and after founding, in 1994, the company that carries her name, Deborah Colker also imprinted her mark on spheres as distinct as video clip, fashion, the cinema, the circus and showbiz. She also inscribed her name in the history of the greatest show for the masses on earth – the parade of the Samba Schools in Rio de Janeiro, major symbol of Rio’s Carnival, to which she contributed repeatedly, choreographing the “comissões de frente” or leading dance groups, for famous names such as Mangueira, Unidos do Viradouro, and more recently Imperatriz Leopoldinense.
Widely recognized among international critics, the excellence of her work as a choreographer was rewarded in 2001 with the Laurence Olivier Award in the category “Oustanding Achievement in Dance”.
Five years later, this brought an invitation from FIFA to create the only dance performance to figure in the cultural activities connected to the 2006 World Cup in Germany –Maracanã – incorporated later into the Cia Deborah Colker repertoire under the title of Dinamo.
In 2009, she choreographed the new show for the Cirque de Soleil – “Ovo”, an entertaining voyage into the world of insects.
One of the greatest honors, to be Director of Movement of the Olympic Games of Rio 2016 showing a representative visual spectacle of the energy of the Brazilian people. This show also included iconic elements of her work as a choreographer.
Source : Cie Deborah Colker ‘s website
