Robin van Zutphen
Robin studied Classical Ballet at the Nel Roos Ballet Academy in Amsterdam, which is known today as the Dutch National Ballet Academy. He also studied at the Dance Academy in Tilburg and pursued Jazz, Show, and Musical at the Amsterdam University of the Arts.
During his higher education studies, he had the opportunity to continue his training as a guest student at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, under the tutelage of Konstantin Sergeyev and Natalia Dudinskaya, as well as at the Juilliard School in New York City with Benjamin Harkarvy. While in New York, Robin also trained at the Alvin Ailey School.
After completing his studies in 1993, he danced with various companies, including Introdans in Arnhem and Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. He began as part of the corps de ballet and later advanced to soloist, where he performed the role of the Ego in the ballet Carmina Burana under the direction of Youri Vámos.
In 2003, Robin successfully obtained his master's degree in Dance Pedagogy I & II Classical at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, founded by Pina Bausch. In 2006, 2011, and 2017, Robin was nominated for his choreographies at the International Solo Dance Festival in Stuttgart.
Since 2001, Robin has been working as a ballet teacher at various dance institutions in the Netherlands. He teaches at places including those run by Thom Stuart and Rinus Sprong of De Dutch Don't Dance Division (DDDD), and with Bettina Klaus Brebeck in Wuppertal, Germany. Additionally, Robin offers private ballet lessons with Alexander Zhembrovskyy, former principal dancer at Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam.
Since 2014, he has performed in productions with Dutch National Ballet. His performances include roles in La Bayadère and Coppélia by Ted Brandsen, as well as The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake. In the version of the romantic classic Giselle created by Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamante, he danced the role of the huntsman.
In 2021, he choreographed Absence for New Moves Online, performed by Daniel Robert Silva. Shortly thereafter, he choreographed the solo Reminiscence for Luisa Bertho, and in May 2022, he created a new solo, La Traversée, for Daniel Robert Silva as part of New Moves.
In 2023, the documentary Benjamin Feliksdal, The Life Story of a Dutch Dance Master was released. Robin created this documentary together with Roland Gaedtgens. The documentary has won several awards at various film festivals, including in Toronto, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Athens, and New York. It also reached the finals at the 2024 Cannes Film Awards and the London Director Awards.
Last update: 21-08-2024