Die Seele am Faden/Soul Threads

In the age of AI, who is the superior dancer — the technically flawless machine, or the human with a soul? In Soul Threads, ballet star Friedemann Vogel embodies the perfection of the marionette only to surpass it, reclaiming the grace Kleist reserved for the puppet.

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

Danza & Danza Prize: Best Choreography/Interpretation (Friedemann Vogel) · Best Lighting Design (Fabiana Piccioli), 2024 Spoleto Festival Premio Capri Danza International: Outstanding Performance (Friedemann Vogel)

World Premiere: Kleist Forum (2024) Presented by Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi · Hamburg Ballet · Teatro dell'Opera di Roma · Stuttgart Ballet · SWR Schwetzingen Festspiele · Salzburger Landestheater

Man vs. Machine

A giant digital avatar of Friedemann Vogel looms over the stage in key scenes, moving with the live dancer and evoking artificial intelligence — and raising the question: who is the more perfect dancer, man or machine? As the real and digital bodies come face to face, Soul Threads sets flawless technique against the emotional depth that only a human can bring.

“A reflection on the future of mankind” - MOZ

The solo opens with Vogel suspended like a marionette, held in sculptural, near-mechanical stillness — a body that seems to defy gravity. A breath. A heartbeat. The dancer is himself a kind of marionette — pulled by the choreographer, the director, the audience — until the dance becomes wholly human: authentic, soulful, free.

With Soul Threads, Friedemann Vogel and visual artist and co-choreographer Thomas Lempertz invite audiences to join them on a timely and profound reflection on the fragility and strength of the human soul, in our age of machines. Drawing on Heinrich von Kleist's seminal 1810 text On the Marionette Theatre, the performance explores how the natural can emerge from the artificial, the moving from the mechanical, and grace from what is trained. Caught between flight and restraint, Friedemann's performance is a delicate balance of mastery and surrender.

Minimalist staging — Thomas Lempertz's set and costumes, Timo Kreitz's digital art and Gaisma's live score — frames the solo in stark, immersive beauty.

“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

World premiere: 10 February 2024, Kleist Forum

Duration: 50 minutes, no interval

Conception & choreography: Friedemann Vogel & Thomas Lempertz

Performance: Friedemann Vogel

Set & costume design: Thomas Lempertz

Live music & composition: Gaisma (Alisa Ščetinina) Digital art: Timo Kreitz

Lighting design: Henry Winter

Produced by: Kleist Forum

Technical note: the work involves harness/flying rigging, digital projection and live music. Full technical rider available on request.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

"A masterpiece… it truly embodies the power and the beauty of the battle between man and robot." — Maria Luisa Buzzi, Editor-in-Chief, Danza & Danza

"An ingenious creation… so compelling and incendiary were the images they created." — Alexandra Karabelas, Tanznetz

"Friedemann Vogel reveals the very essence of dance itself. Pure magic." — Annette Stiekele, Hamburger Abendblatt

"Dance became a landscape of the soul — and therein lies its power." — Jürgen Gruler, Schwetzinger Zeitung

"World star Vogel dances into the soul of the audience." — Annette Matz, NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk)*

"An intense and visionary solo… the body becomes the pure expression of spirit and authenticity." — Corinne Vosa, Artribune

Read the full review: Artribune — a particularly clear and insightful analysis of the work.

Full press dossier available on request.

For booking enquiries, the full press dossier and the technical rider, contact Charlene Lim, globalartslink@gmail.com