Friedemann Vogel
Quick Facts
Biography
Friedemann Vogel (born 1 August 1979) is a German ballet dancer who performs with Stuttgart Ballet as a Principal Dancer and as a frequent guest artist at major ballet houses around the world including La Scala in Milan and the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre in Moscow. He has been awarded several prestigious dance prizes including Prix de Lausanne (1997), Prix de Luxembourg (1997), Eurocity Competition in Italy, USA International Ballet Competition(1998) and Erik Bruhn Prize (2002). In September 2015, he was awarded the national title Kammertänzer - the highest honor in Germany that can be bestowed on a dancer. In the following year, 2016, he was awarded the "Prix Maya" for "Outstanding Dancer" alongside Aurélie Dupont and Diana Vishneva.
Early life and training
Vogel was born in Stuttgart, Germany. He studied at John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart. After receiving the John Gilpin Scholarship from Princess Antoniette de Monaco, he completed his ballet training at Princess Grace Academy of Classical Dance in Monte Carlo.
Career
Vogel embarked on his professional dance career with Stuttgart Ballet in September 1998 as a member of the Corps de ballet. In 1997 to 1998, he participated and won the cash-prize from Prix de Lausanne (1997), Gold Medal from Prix de Luxembourg (1997), Gold Medal from Eurocity Competition in Italy (1997) and Bronze from USA International Ballet Competition(1998). In 2002, Vogel won the Erik Bruhn Prize with the Pas de deux from "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated", a coveted prize awarded to dancers known to have "technical ability, artistic achievement and dedication". In the same year he won the Erik Bruhn Prize, Vogel was promoted to a Principal Dancer in Stuttgart Ballet where he played the leading role for many well-known ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Raymonda, Onegin and Boléro. Vogel has also been invited to perform as guest dancer by the following companies (in alphabetical order):
- Ballets de Santiago de Chile
- Bayerisches Staatsballett
- Béjart Ballet Lausanne
- Bolshoi Ballet Theatre Moscow
- English National Ballet
- Finnish National Ballet
- Hong Kong Ballet
- Korean National Ballet
- Mariinsky Theater St.Petersburg
- National Ballet of China
- Royal Swedish Ballet
- Staatsballett Berlin
- Teatro alla Scala Milano
- Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
- Tokyo Ballet
- Vienna State Ballet
In 2015, Vogel was awarded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg the highest honor in Germany, "Kammertänzer", for a dancer. In the following year, 2016, he was awarded the "Prix Maya" for "Outstanding Dancer" alongside Aurélie Dupont and Diana Vishneva.
Reception
In addition to being recognized for his dancing through many prestigious dance awards, Vogel was named "Outstanding Dancer" by the critics in the Ballettanz magazine in 2005 and 2009 as well as "Dancer of the Year" in 2014. The Dance Europe magazine named Vogel "Outstanding Dancer" twice in 2010, awarded by Danza&Danza magazine "best male dancer" in 2011 and also awarded the Positano Premio la Danza – Leonide Massine as the best male dancer in 2012. The British Theatre Guide singled out Vogel as the "standout one" and that he "soars like a bird" in his Tristesse performance. He was also lauded by Debra Craine of The Times for his performance in Tristesse: "All performers were outstanding, but Vogel in particular lifted Tristesse on to another plane with the sheer beauty and heart of his dancing." A New York Times dance reviewer named Vogel as a "handsome, appealing, tall dancer whom I hope New York comes to know better" for his performance in Marguerite and Armand.
Several dance blogs have also praised Vogel: Dancetabs commended Vogel for being a "beautiful, lyrical, light, clean dancer" and that the pas de deux was a "poignant moment" in Tristesse. Artmeme praised Vogel for his "noteworthy and outstanding presence on stage" and called him an "exquisite German dancer".
Vogel continues to gain the attention of international press in Germany, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, United States of America, United Kingdom, and France.
List of ballets/roles performed
The following table lists the ballets Vogel is the lead dancer:
Ballet | Choreographer | Role |
---|---|---|
Afternoon of a Faun | Jerome Robbins | Leading |
Apollo | George Balanchine | Apollo |
Bella Figura | Jiří Kylián | Pas de deux |
Boléro | Maurice Béjart | Male leading |
Dances at'a Gathering | Jerome Robbins | Role in Green |
Diamonds | George Balanchine | Leading |
Edward II | David Bintley | Edward II |
Forgotten Land | Jiří Kylián | White |
Fratres | John Neumeier | Leading |
Gaîté Parisienne | Maurice Béjart | Pax de deux "The Lovers" |
Giselle | Production: Reid Anderson, Valentina Savina, Patrice Bart, Yvette Chauviré | Duke Albrecht |
Grand Pas Classique | Daniel Auber | Leading |
In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated | William Forsythe | Leading |
Initials R.M.B.E | John Cranko | Leading |
Kazimir's Colours | Mauro Bigonzetti | Leading |
La Bayadère | Natalia Makarova | Solar |
La fille mal gardée | Sir Frederick Ashton | Colas |
La Sylphide | Peter Schaufuss, Erik Bruhn after August Bournonville | James |
Legende | John Cranko | Leading |
Les Sylphides | Michail Fokine | Poet |
Marguerite and Armand | Frederick Ashton | Armand |
Manon | Kenneth MacMillian | Des Grieux |
Onegin | John Cranko | Onegin and Lenski |
Poème de l’extase | John Cranko | Lead boy in love |
Raymonde 3 Act | Rudolf Nureyev | Jean de Brienne |
Ricercare | Glen Tetley | Leading |
Romeo and Juliet | John Cranko, Kenneth Macmillian, Derek Deane | Romeo |
Slice to Sharp | Jorma Elo | Leading |
Songs of a wayfarer | Maurice Béjart | Nureyev |
Stravinsky Volin Concerto | George Balanchine | Leading |
Swan Lake | John Cranko, Derek Deane, Yuri Grigorovich, Rudolf Nureyev, Asaf Messerer | Prince Siegfried |
Symphony in C | Balanchine | 1st movement |
The Four Temperament | George Balanchine | Sanguinic |
The Lady and the Fool | John Cranko | Moondog, Prince |
The Lady of the Camellias | John Neumeier | Armand Duval and Graf N. |
The Sleeping Beauty | Márcia Haydée after Marius Petipa | Prince Désiré |
The Song of the Earth | Kenneth MacMillan | Messenger of Death |
Theme and Variations | George Balanchine | Leading |
Voluntaries | Glen Tetley | Pas de trois |
The following table is lists roles specially created for Vogel:
Ballet | Choreographer | Role |
---|---|---|
Carlotta's Portrait | Christian Spuck | Leading |
Copelia at Teatro alla Scala | Derek Deane | Franz |
EDEN | Wayne McGregor | Male lead |
Fancy Goods | Marco Goecke | Lead |
Giselle | Irina Lukasova | Duke Albrecht |
II Concertone | Mauro Bigonzetti | Leading |
Le petite rien | Christian Spuck | Leading |
Mono Lisa | Itzik Galil | Leading |
nocturne | Christian Spuck | Leading |
Orlando | Marco Goecke | Leading |
Raymonda at Teatri alla Scala | Sergej Vikharev | Jean de Brienne |
still.nest | Dominique Dumais | Leading |
Strictly Gershwin | Derek Deane | Leading |
The Chambers of a Heart | Itzik Galil | Leading |
The Firebird | Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui | Leading |
The Shaking Tent | Marc Spradling | Leading |
The Sleeping Beauty | Derek Deane, Cyntia Harvey | Prince Desiré |
Tristesse for "Kings of the Dance" | Marcelo Gomes | Leading |
Two Pieces of Matter against the Gravitational Force | Jean Christophe Blavier | Leading |
Awards
- 2016 "Prix Maya"
- 2015 "Kammertänzer" of Germany
- 2002 Erik Bruhn Prize
- 1998 Bronze in USA International Ballet Competition
- 1997 Gold Medal in Prix de Luxembourg
- 1997 Gold Medal in Eurocity Competition in Italy
- 1997 Cash-Prize in Prix de Lausanne