Robert Sturm

Robert Sturm was born in Dresden in 1965 to two actors.

In early 1989, he moved to West Germany where he began to study theatre, film and TV, philosophy and international politics. Instead of graduating, he joined the real world, working as an assistant director and dramaturg in Budapest and Szolnok. His first own productions followed soon after. In 1999, he first joined the Tanztheater Wuppertal on its research trip to Hungary for Wiesenland as an assistant for the new production. In 2000, Pina Bausch hired him as her artistic assistant and rehearsal director. In this role, he worked closely with her on the creation of her last ten world premieres, Wiesenland, Água, For the Children of yesterday, today and tomorrow, Nefés, Ten Chi, Rough Cut, Full Moon, Bamboo Blues, 'Sweet Mambo' and "...como el musguito en la  piedra, ay si, si, si…" as well as on restaging’s of pieces from the company’s older repertory, including Kontakthof, 1980 - A Piece by Pina Bausch, Bandoneon, Carnations, On the Mountain a Cry was heard, Viktor, Palermo Palermo, The Window Washer and Masurca Fogo. After Pina Bausch died in 2009, Robert Sturm and Dominique Mercy became joint artistic directors of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, roles they occupied until 2013. Together with Ulli Stepan, Sturm directed the 2013/2014 anniversary season “PINA40 – 40 Years of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch”. He also continued his roles as head of artistic administration and rehearsal director. In 2015 and 2017, Sturm directed the interdisciplinary projects Romeo and Juliet and Don Quixote of la Mancha in Wuppertal. Collaborators for these projects include Tony Cragg, Hubert Schirneck, Jean Laurent Sasportes, Wolfgang Schmidtke, Carolin Pook, Matthias Burkert, Gunda Gottschalk and Werner Dickel. In 2021, Robert Sturm staged a new version of Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick to the original music by Alexander Balanescu and in the set design created by sculptor Tony Cragg. On stage were four actors, the former Pina Bausch dancers Ed Kortlandt, Jan Minarik, Jean Laurent Sasportes and Mark Sieczkarek. Since 2019, Robert Sturm has been the Tanztheater’s Director of Artistic Management.