Born in São Paulo, Brazil, I began my formal training in classical ballet and modern/contemporary dance in 2007 at Academia Narcisa Coelho. I later received a scholarship to study at the Boston Ballet School (USA) and completed an internship with Pró‑Danza in Havana, Cuba. In Brazil, I also performed with Cisne Negro Cia de Dança.
In 2013, I relocated to Germany to pursue further studies at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden. Following my studies, I became a member of the Sorbisches National Ensemble in Bautzen. Since 2017, I have been a member of the ballet ensemble at Musikalische Komödie / Oper Leipzig.
Alongside my performing career, I have continuously developed my pedagogical and somatic practice. Since 2019, I have taught dance and movement at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig, the Mozarteum University Salzburg, and Dance Workshop e.V..
My teaching approach is informed by interdisciplinary training in dance pedagogy, somatic movement, and body health. I hold a Master’s degree in Dance Pedagogy from the Palucca University of Dance Dresden (2023). In addition, I am trained as a Spinal Movement Educator (Wirbelsäule Gymnastik) and Sports Massage Therapist, integrating trigger point therapy and reflexology into my pedagogical and movement-based work. These approaches support injury prevention, spinal health, and sustainable movement practice.
As a choreographer, I have created works for opera, operetta, musical theatre, and television, collaborating with directors such as Carsten Süss, Karoline Gruber, Matthias Oldag, and Matthias Reichwald, Bernhard Hegele. My work also includes television and streaming productions for ARD, notably Einspruch, Schatz. Ein Fall von Liebe., directed by Annette Ernst.
Since 2019, I have served as Lecturer of Dance and Movement, and since 2025 as Coordinator, in the Classical Voice / Music Theatre Department at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, where I lead the development of movement education for singers, integrating artistic expression, embodied cognition, and spinal health.
Claudio Valentim
Leipzig, Germany
[email protected]
Portuguese. English. Spanish. German.