Born in Stuttgart, Friedemann completed his training at the Princess Grace Academy in Monte Carlo, thanks to a scholarship from Princess Antoinette de Monaco. He showed his outstanding talent, by winning the Prix de Lausanne in 1997, the Gold medal in the Prix de Luxembourg and in the Eurocity Competition in Italy. In the following year, he won the Jackson Competition USA.
In September 1998, he began his career by joining the Stuttgart Ballet, where he remained, quickly rising through the ranks. In 2002, he was promoted to First Soloist, the company’s highest rank. In the same year he also won the much-coveted Erik Bruhn Prize in Toronto.
Friedemann has been elected “Dancer of the Year” twice by the international dance critics survey of the “Tanz” magazine, for 2010 and again for 2019, and in 2012, “Best Male Dancer” by the Italian dance magazine “Danza&Danza”.
No need to list Friedemann’s repertoire, so rich and vast including title roles in the classics, as well as principal roles in pieces by Choreographers ranging from Cranko and Balanchine to Robbins and Kylián, from Neumeier to Forsythe and McGregor.
A veritable star in the dance world, he has been invited to perform as guest Principal by the most prestigious companies, including the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre Moscow, the Marijnsky Theater St Petersburg, the Teatro alla Scala Milano, the English National Ballet, the National Ballet of China, the Tokyo Ballet and the Hong Kong Ballet, Santiago de Chile Ballet, the Finnish National Ballet, the Staatsballett Berlin and the Bayerisches Staatsballett, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Wiener Staatsballett, the Korean National Ballet,…
In September 2015, he was awarded the national title of “Kammertänzer” and received the “Prix MAYA” in 2016.
In October 2020, he was honored as “Outstanding Performer” with the German Dance Prize 2020. In 2021, Friedemann was selected to be the Ambassador for International Dance Day to write the official message by the International Theatre Institute, under the patronage of UNESCO.
Profile photo: ©Sébastien Galtier
Photo in action: ©Youn Sik Kim
