Julie Anne Stanzak

was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and grew up in New Orleans, taking ballet classes and attending summer schools that were taught by renowned teachers in the US. She moved to Minneapolis with her parents, where she continued her ballet training and danced with the Andahazy Ballet Company, which followed the Russian tradition. She also attended the celebrated Children’s Theater Company of Minneapolis, studying acting and performing in numerous school productions.

In 1976 she went to Chicago to join the Chicago Lyric Opera Ballet under Maria Tallchief. Tallchief became an important mentor in her life. After auditioning for various ballet companies in Europe, Rudi van Danzig invited her to join Het National Ballet in Amsterdam, where she remained from 1979 to 1986, dancing in their extensive and diverse repertoire. During this time, Julie watched Pina Bausch’s creation process for a piece for the 1982 Holland Dance Festival and was fascinated by the ensemble and its unique atmosphere. “I found the ideas and the way that Pina and her dancers communicated with each other incredibly moving. I was particularly interested in Pina’s investigation of humanity and all its depths.”

Julie has been a permanent member of the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal since 1986 and has danced in more than 30 of Pina Bausch’s pieces. She now also assists in the restaging of Pina’s repertoire and is a rehearsal director. She directs workshops, educational activities and publicity projects for the Tanztheater, while also assisting in numerous ventures by the Pina Bausch Foundation. In recent years she has performed in productions by Theo Clinkard, Dimitris Papaioannou and Rainer Behr, and appeared in films by Amos Gitai, Wim Wenders, Nathalie Larquet, Samantha Shay and Norbert Prettenthaler. “Pina was a master, an explorer of desires, and she valued your personal journey. I am deeply grateful.”

Today, Julie Anne Stanzak works with dance institutions, universities and theatres all over Europe, the USA and Japan, teaching, choreographing and creating new pieces. She greatly appreciates working with people with diverse abilities, including at RambaZamba Theater in Berlin, Teatro La Ribalta – Art of Diversity in Bolzano and Compagnie L’Oiseau Mouche in Roubaix. She is convinced that “a human being is an inexhaustible source of beauty – every human being, no matter what their story is.”