Rainer Behr studied dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts after completing an apprenticeship as a gymnastics teacher. From 1990 to 1995, he danced with the Folkwang Tanzstudio in Essen, where he worked with Susanne Linke, Raffaella Giordano, Urs Dietrich, and Mark Sieczkarek. During this period, he also appeared as a guest dancer with Tanztheater Wuppertal before being invited by Pina Bausch in 1995 to join the ensemble as a permanent member.

Since then, he has been closely associated with the artistic world of Tanztheater Wuppertal and has become one of the enduring performers connected to Pina Bausch’s legacy. Archive material from the Pina Bausch Foundation lists him in more than twenty works, including major creations from the later repertory, reflecting a long and sustained presence within the company’s artistic development.

Alongside his performing career, Behr has been creating his own choreographic work since 1989. He received first prize at the choreography competition in Cagliari for Die Wendung der Dinge and was awarded the Claasen Dance Award in 1990. His choreographies for Folkwang Tanzstudio include Rote Rose, Solo, Einsames Königreich, and ButterflyRiverMountainSun-Moon. In 2004, he created Der eiserne Pudel for the International Dance Festival NRW, Three Weeks with Pina Bausch, and he later developed further works for Tanztheater Wuppertal’s UNDERGROUND series as well as guest projects for Theater Bielefeld.

His choreographic work has continued to evolve over the years. A later milestone was Schlafende Frau, his first full length work for Tanztheater Wuppertal, which premiered at the Wuppertal Opera House in 2021. Across both performance and choreography, his artistic language is rooted in physical precision, inner tension, and a deep understanding of dance theatre as a form shaped equally by movement, atmosphere, and human presence.