Nir de Volff was born and raised in Israel. He studied dance at the Bat-Dor Academy in Tel Aviv; his first professional engagements followed, including a guest appearance in Pina Bausch’s choreography “Viktor” at the Tel Aviv Opera House. In 2000, he moved to Amsterdam and created his first original choreographies. In 2004, he moved to Berlin and created his own piece for the Tanztage festival at the sophiensaelen.
From 2004 to 2008, he was a member of Constanza Macras’s ensemble at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz. In 2007, he founded his own company, Nir de Volff/TOTAL BRUTAL. Since then, Nir has been working regularly with his group at DOCK 11/ DOCK ART, creating international projects and touring worldwide. He also collaborates regularly with the sophiensaelen and the Schaubühne Berlin, as well as working with Falk Richter for the Vienna Festival and the Teatre National Strasbourg. In addition, he has undertaken numerous other collaborations, including with She She Pop Berlin, Antú Romero Nuno at the Thalia Theater Hamburg, Katarina Niminnen at the Volksbühne Berlin, Nurkan Erpulat at the GORKI Theater Berlin, and Philipp Preus at the Theater an der Ruhr.
He developed a movement method called BBM – Breathing Bodies Movement – which he teaches worldwide at dance and arts centres, art academies and in the private sector. BBM is designed for dancers, actors and anyone who enjoys moving.
With his company TOTAL BRUTAL, Nir works with professional performers and various theatres, including the Frankfurt Opera, the Grand Theatre Groningen, the Rotterdamse Schouwburg, the Sibiu Festival in Romania, the ZIL Culture Centre in Moscow, the SESC Pinheiros in São Paulo, the Macau Art Centre in China, the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore, the Bangkok National Centre for Dramatic Art, the Stadttheater St. Pölten in Austria, Warehouse 2 in Jaffa Port, the Ponec Theatre in Prague, the Teatro Alle Tese in Venice and the Amphithéâtre de Gesù in Montreal.
2020/21 Appointment in Leipzig as principal choreographer for the mixable Forward Dance Company. 2022 Invitation to the Weimar Art Festival; opening with a collaborative work with visual artist Sigalit Landau. 2023 Choreography of the multicultural dance show “Club Loneliness” for the Macau Arts Festival, China. 2024 World premiere of his choreographic work for “Peer Gynt” at the Düsseldorf State Theatre.
With “Everybody dance Now # Chemnitz”, he launched the opening of Chemnitz 2025 – European Capital of Culture, collaborating with performers from Chemnitz of all ages. He also staged the world premiere of “Freedom is a dancer” at the Junges Schauspiel Düsseldorf.
At the invitation of Kulturprojekte Berlin, Nir choreographed “Dancing Memory” with six Jewish and non-Jewish dancers to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, an outdoor production centred around the synagogue on Fraenkelufer, one of Berlin’s most significant synagogues
In his work, Nir combines socio-political themes with entertainment. Nir sees bringing together artists from the Middle East living in Europe as one of his most important artistic tasks; since 2017, various performances have been created under the title “Come as you are” in collaboration with Syrian dancers, exploring the themes of identity, home and belonging.