Robert Sturm is born in Dresden in 1965 to two actors. In early 1989 he moves to West Germany, where he begins to study theatre, film and TV, philosophy and international politics in Cologne in 1990. Instead of graduating, he decides to join the real world, working as an assistant director and dramaturg in Budapest and Szolnok. His first own productions follow soon after. In 1999, he joins the Tanztheater Wuppertal on its research trip to Hungary for Wiesenland, at first as an assistant for the new production. In 2000, Pina Bausch engages him as her artistic assistant and rehearsal director. In this role he works 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 restagings 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’s death in 2009, Robert Sturm and Dominique Mercy become joint artistic directors of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, roles they occupy until 2013. Together with Ulli Stepan, Sturm directs the 2013/2014 anniversary season “PINA40 – 40 Years of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch”. He also continues his roles as head of artistic administration and rehearsal director. In 2015 and 2017, Sturm directs 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 as well as 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.