J. Alex Cordaro is a Philadelphia-based Fight Director and Educator with over 30 years of training, practice, and experience creating stage violence.

As a Designer, Alex has served as Fight Director on well over a hundred professional productions with Equity and AGMA, (Opera Philadelphia, The Wilma, Arden, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, The Lantern, Inis Nua, Theatre Horizon etc.) including eight World Premieres and numerous Philadelphia and U.S. Premieres. In addition, his choreography has been sailing across Europe and the Caribbean for the past fifteen years with thirty-four different casts of three original shows for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Alex has also directed hundreds of fights for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh area dance companies, regional colleges, and Young Company Tours.

He is the former Stage Combat Instructor and Fight Director for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, offering five semesters of training for the Brind School of Theatre. Before that, he taught at Arcadia University, Rowan University, Temple University, and The University of Delaware. Alex is also a core instructor for the annual Philadelphia Stage Combat Workshop going into its 25th year.

Alex is a Certified Fight Director, Certified Teacher, and Theatrical Firearms Instructor with the Society of American Fight Directors. He is a three-time Barrymore Award Nominee for Outstanding Movement/ Choreography, and he was featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Project Discovery” series: Careers in the Arts; Fight Director.