Following a hiatus brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Global Arts Link is back to touring productions, beginning with the multi-award-winning “Die Seele am Faden/Soul Threads” by Friedemann Vogel and Thomas Lempertz.

"Die Seele am Faden/Soul Threads”

Winner of Danza & Danza Prize for Best Choreography/Interpretation: Friedemann Vogel Winner of Danza & Danza Prize for Best Lighting Design: Fabiana Piccioli (for the 2024 Spoleto Festival)

“My body is the instrument of my soul.” Friedemann Vogel

Provoking the very topical and pertinent question: “Who is the better dancer? Man or Machine?”, “Die Seele am Faden/Soul Threads” is the first full-length creation by world-renowned ballet star Friedemann Vogel, which he co-choreographed with Thomas Lempertz. The solo, which Friedemann also performs, had its world premiere in February 2024 at the Kleist Forum in Frankfurt (Oder), and its Italian/international premiere at the 2024 Spoleto Festival. Inspired by Heinrich von Kleist’s essay “About the Marionette Theatre”, “Soul Threads”, explores how the natural can arise from the unnatural, the touching from the artificial, and the graceful from the trained.

“In the piece, the soul wins over the marionette. Of course. the soul always wins. We must remember that, especially now that everything is moving towards digital and AI. Ultimately, what counts and what remains and will always change our society is art, and that has to do with emotions, with human fragility.” Friedemann Vogel

At a Glance:

Duration: 60 minutes (with no interval)

Touring party: Five 

Next performances:

6 + 7 May at the SWR Schwetzingen Festspiele

21 + 22 June at the Kleist Forum (sold out)

Credits:

Conception and choreography by Friedemann Vogel & Thomas Lempertz; Performance by Friedemann Vogel; Set & Costume Design by Thomas Lempertz; Live music and composition by Gaisma (Alisa Scetinina); Digital Art by Timo Kreitz; Lighting Design by Henry Winter; Produced by the Kleist Forum 

PRESS

“A masterpiece of reflection and interpretation, combining choreography, music, lighting design and direction to create a unique work…. A dazzling solo drawn with the breath, skin, bones, tendons, brain and heart, truly embodies the power and the beauty of the battle between man and robot.” Maria Luisa Buzzi, Editor in Chief, DanzaeDanza Magazine

“An hour of pure emotions... a show of rare beauty, of deep sensitivity” Carlo Ceraso, Tutto Oggi

“A one-man show with profound meaning... Vogel, muscles of steel, makes a journey that is first and foremost a psychological introspection on the very reason for dancing and its emotional matrices. A unique, exciting show by a dancer who emphasizes how one dances not only with the body, but even before with the head and with the soul.”Lorenzo Tozzi, Il Tempo

“The world dance star enchants San Simone, which gives him a standing ovation. A mature and conscious dancer, perfect for this pièce, where puppet and man confront each other in a succession of visual and sound suggestions that break down their anatomies and scores of movement.” Arianna De Angelis Morocco, Umbria 24

“a reflection on the future of mankind......becoming human in the midst of despair at world events" Silvia Fitchner, MOZ

“ The lightness of being, which the poet Heinrich von Kleist granted to the puppet, is manifested here... The more the marionette humanizes itself in the course of the almost one- hour performance, the more immediate and truthful the dance becomes.” Hartmut Regitz, Tanz Magazin