Biography

Samuel Wuersten

Samuel Wuersten, dancer, teacher and choreographer, was born in Gstaad, Switzerland. He pursued formal dance studies at the Hamburg Ballet School and the Rotterdam Dance Academy as well as with different teachers in New York City. He performed with the Amsterdam-based Danskern (in choreographies by Doris Humphrey, Sophie Maslow and José Limon); the Rotterdam-based Danstheater Ingrid Dalmeyer; the Rotterdam Dance Company (where he worked with Yoshiko Chuma, Käthy Gosschalk, Amanda Miller, Stephen Petronio, Marta Renzi, Ton Simons, Shusaku Takeuchi, and Randy Warshaw, among others); His New York performing credits include appearances with Ton Simons And Dancers, Brenda Daniels Dance Company, Shelley Lee, and (Emma) Diamond Dance. He also danced with Monika Rebcova Dance, Prague and Amanda Miller's Pretty Ugly Dance Company.

A much sought after teacher of modern dance, Samuel Wuersten has conducted teaching residencies in many different countries all over the world, such as Belgium, Canada, the Czeck Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slowakia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK. His teaching credits for professional dancers and students include institutions such as the Rotterdamse Dansacademie, the Theaterschool for Modern Dance in Amsterdam, the London Contemporary Dance School, Canada’s National Ballet School, the Henny Jurriëns Foundation, the Japan Ballet Seminars, the School of and Toronto Dance Theatre, Dansgroep Krisztina de Châtel, the Richard Alston Dance Company, Charleroi Danses, Batsheva Dance Company, Modern Dance Theatre Ankara Ballet Gulbenkian, Gothenborg Ballet and Geneva Ballet.

Since 1997 Samuel Wuersten has been invited to teach the contemporary dance classes during the Prix de Lausanne. Samuel Wuersten started choreographing in 1992 in New York when he was invited to participate in the Danspace Project's showcase for emerging choreographers. He created a number of shorter pieces in Prague and in The Netherlands. In 1994 he produced his first extended work 'Handel With Care - Solos From A Suitcase', which was performed in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and New York City. Other creations include 'Poise' for the Ballett Schindowski, Gelsenkirchen, 'Fractured Lullaby' for De Rotterdamse Dansgroep, 'Memento' for the Tanztheater der Komischen Oper, Berlin, 'Touch and Go' for TECS (Tanzensemble Cathy Sharp), Basle and 'Briget' for the BallettMainz. Samuel Wuersten also created solos for Amanda Miller ('Boomerang') and Jorma Uotinen ('In Memory of...').

In June 1994, Samuel Wuersten was appointed Artistic Director of the Holland Dance Festival, The Hague. He combines his work for the festival with a number of other activities. Since 1998 he has been a member of the Artistic Board of the Steps Festival in Switzerland as well as a member of the Artistic Committee of the Prix de Lausanne. In September 2000 he took on the post of Artistic Director at the Rotterdamse Dansacademie and in September 2004 he was invited to become the guest program director for dance at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague. He also serves as advisor, board- and jury-member to different (inter)national dance institutions,-organizations and -events.