FRIEDEMANN VOGEL

FRIEDEMANN VOGEL - “A world star who never lost the ground beneath his feet” (Tanz)

Stuttgart Ballet étoile Friedemann Vogel is one of the world's finest and most sought after dancers, and the only male dancer worldwide to be elected “Dancer of the Year” twice (2010 & 2019) by the International Critics’ Survey of the prestigious trade journal TANZ.

In 2021, Friedemann was selected to be the Ambassador of International Dance Day (29 April) by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) under the patronage of UNESCO. Each year, the ITI invites an outstanding dance personality to write an official message for this special day dedicated to dance. Past message authors include the likes of William Forsythe, Merce Cunningham, Maurice Béjart amongst other dance greats. Friedemann’s message has been translated into many languages and has been widely disseminated around the world. It is also available as a message video, where Friedemann delivers his message in a poetic combination of movement and text. In 2022, Friedemann starred in “Nuit Romaine” alongside ballet star Eleonora Abbagnato and dancers from the Rome Opera Ballet. The dance film choreographed and directed by Angelin Preljocaj, and shot at the Palazo Farnese in Rome, featured costumes designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, and premiered on Dior’s YouTube Channel on 29 April to celebrate International Dance Day. The stage production then had its world premiere at the Rome Opera Ballet as part of the Serata Preljocaj doublebill in September 2022.

The former Prix de Lausanne prizewinner was appointed a jury member for the prestigious ballet competition in 2022, and performed in the special gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Prize in 2023. In 2020, Friedemann received the “Outstanding Performer” award at the prestigious German Dance Prize, in recognition of his longstanding and illustrious international career, for excelling in both classical and contemporary work, and as a unique dance interpreter, with his exceptional combination of intense emotional portrayals and flawless technique. Friedemann also holds the national title of “Kammertänzer” - the highest honour that can be bestowed on a dancer in Germany. Frequently invited to perform as guest artist with renowned ballet companies, and at international ballet galas, Friedemann enjoys a strong global fan following. In 2024, he was awarded the prestigious John Cranko Prize, for his outstanding contribution to the work and legacy of the late artistic director.

“Friedemann Vogel: Ambassador for Diversity and Tolerance” for the SWR Kultur Campaign

In 2024, Friedemann Vogel headlined the “Kultur darf das” (Culture is allowed) campaign to relaunch the SWR Kultur channel. Advocating the important role of culture to bring people together, especially in an increasingly divided society, Friedemann makes the case that Culture shouldn’t just be allowed; it must be.

DOCUMENTARIES

In 2020, “Friedemann Vogel - Verkörperung des Tanzes” - the first full-length documentary on the Stuttgart Ballet principal dancer - premiered in April on German TV channel SWR. It was later broadcast on the regional TV channel 3Sat in July, and had its Asian premiere as part of The Esplanade Singapore’s 2020 Dan:s Festival, before being broadcast on the Japanese TV channel NHK. Featured as a highlight in the 2022 SWR Doku Festival, the screening in Stuttgart followed by a discussion with Friedemann and the documentary director Katja Trautwein was completely sold out, The DVD of the documentary is now available as part of the Stuttgart Ballet Documentary Collection Box Set.

Friedemann was featured in another documentary “Dance on!”, as one of four protagonists. Directed by Henrike Sandner, the film premiered on ARTE in November 2022, and won two prizes in the 2023 World Media Festival for “Best Documentary” and “Best Arts & Culture Documentary”, as well as “Gold” in the category of Lifestyle, Art, Music and Culture at the 2023 Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards. More recently, Friedemann was one of the protagonists in an episode of ZDF Aspekte “Älter Werden - na und?” (“Getting older - so what?”), which is available to watch online in the ZDF Mediathek.

FEATURE FILM DEBUT

In 2024, Friedemann will make his feature film debut in Joachim Lang’s “Cranko”, playing the role of Heinz Clauss- an important ballet star John Cranko handpicked to join the Stuttgart Ballet, and on whom he created several important roles, including the lead in his masterpiece “Onegin”.

The biopic will have its avant-première at the Stuttgart Opera House on 3 October before a cinematic release on 3 October.

Fun fact; Friedemann met Heinz Clauss at his audition to join the John Cranko Schule, when the latter was at its helm as school principal!

IN CONVERSATION

Friedemann also makes frequent appearances on TV in interviews and talk shows, or specials such as ZDF Kulturzeit’s annual programme Ausblicke 2024, which invites esteemed artists to share their reflection on the past year, and their wishes for the new one. He was a guest on popular late night talk shows SWR Nachtcafé in 2023, and Talk am See in 2019. In 2017, Friedemann launched The Arts Arena's 10th anniversary celebrations in Paris, speaking to a full-house about his career thus far.

FASHION SHOOTS AND LUXURY BRAND COLLABORATIONS

The multi-award-winning German ballet star is exclusively represented by Global Arts Link for special projects, such as collaborations with luxury brands and features in lifestyle magazines, including Vogue Russia, Vogue Germany, Crash Magazine, Discovery (Cathay Pacific’s inflight Magazine), Encens Magazine, Fashion for Men, Harper’s Bazaar Singapore, Vogue Taiwan, Vogue China, Harper’s Bazaar Taiwan, GQ Italy, Zoo Magazine, SUPER Magazine, and GQ Germany, as one of the top nine German creatives featured in the inaugural issue of IDEAT Germany in April 2021, Vulture Magazine, and the May issue of the Stuttgarter Zeitung Magazin, in which he showcased the 2022 summer Menswear from a variety of brands.

In 2023, Friedemann did a photoshoot with Porsche in Hamburg, responding to the interview questions using only movement, as part of their “Driven by Dreams” campaign, and is featured in Numéro Homme Berlin in their #Minimalism issue. In 2019, Friedemann launched the “Inspired by Porsche” campaign, which was named “Creation of the Day” by leading German journal on media & marketing W&V, and won two International Communicator Awards from the Academy of Visual & Interactive Arts in 2020. Also in 2019, Nuit Blanche - his collaboration with the Rome Opera Ballet and Maria Grazia Chiuri of Maison Dior - received extensive global media coverage. and in 2016, he headlined the inaugural dance performance at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

CHARITY WORK

Friedemann strongly believes in the importance of giving back, and all proceeds from his recent 25th anniversary celebrations on 15th July “An Evening with Friedemann Vogel” at the Stuttgart Ballet went towards supporting young talents at the John Cranko Schule. He also often participates in charity events such as the Badisches Staatsballett’s International Benefit Gala on 13th July to raise funds for the Sybel Centre for Child and Youth Services of the Karlsruhe Home Foundation, which supports young people and their families, or the “Dreamers.Night” organized by Porsche Hamburg in November 2022, where he performed as well as joined the illustrious panel comprising top model Toni Garrn, TV presenter Linda Zervakis, and the rapper Curse to speak about their paths to fulfilling their dreams. Almost 70.000 Euros was raised from the event, and all proceeds were donated to the Toni Garrn Foundation to support women in Africa through education and healthcare.

In 2020, “Physical Conversation” - Friedemann’s collaboration with photographer Oliver Kröning resulted in a limited-edition art box comprising 23 prints of the ballet star captured at unlikely locations while the theatre was out of bounds. The Box, which was available to purchase exclusively from the Galerie Kernweine online shop, was completely sold out within four days! All proceeds were donated to the Olgäle-Stiftung für das kranke Kind e.V., - a foundation supporting sick children in Stuttgart. In 2021, this visual dialogue between the Stuttgart artists was revisited as an outdoor exhibition curated by Galerie Kernweine in the Garden Museum of the StadtPalais - Museum for Stuttgart from 9th May to 30th June, and brought a record number of visitors to the museum. This garden exhibition was another endeavour by Friedemann to continue finding alternative ways to engage the public while waiting for live performances to resume. The exhibition and the limited-edition art box jointly raised nearly 10,000 Euros for the Olgäle Stiftung für das kranke Kind e.V. Selected prints from the series in limited edition are available to purchase from the Galerie Kernweine online shop.

In response to the global pandemic, Friedemann gave a virtual ballet improvisation class in collaboration with choreographer Sébastien Bertaud, as part of the “Dior & Dance” initiative in 2020, to encourage dancers to continue training at home, and to provide the public a glimpse into the lives of professional dancers.

CHOREOGRAPHY

“Not in my hands”

Friedemann was also galvanised by the lockdown to make his first attempt at choreography in 2021, and co-created with Thomas Lempertz the solo “Not in my hands” which Friedemann performed himself, to reflect on how performing artists fought to overcome the struggles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Die Seele am Faden/Soul Threads”

In 2024, Friedemann and Thomas made their first full-length work “Die Seele am Faden/Soul Threads”, using Heinrich von Kleist’s text “About the Puppet Theatre” as a starting point, drawing a fascinating parallel between the puppet and the dancer – both interpreters of someone else's vision – and explores opposites by investigating how the natural can spring from the unnatural, grace from a trained body, and sensitivity from the artifice.. The world premiere in February at the Kleist Forum in Frankfurt (Oder) was quickly sold out, as was the second run at the end of March, after which “Soul Threads” went on to receive rave reviews for its recent Italian and international premiere at the Spoleto Festival, from 5th to 7th July.

Écorché - Anatomie des Tanzes

Friedemann was invited to create a special performance at the Alte Anatomie, to celebrate the approval of the second funding phase of "Andere Ästhetiks" (Other Aesthetics) for the Special Research Centre at the University of Tübingen, as well as participate in the panel discussion following a lecture by the esteemed dance and theatre scholar Prof Gabriele Brandstetter.

Écorché refers to a genre of aesthetic objects at the interface of scientific and artistic practice, and Friedemann’s performance was one of the highlights of the sold-out event on 27 March, reported RTF1 news.