Soulscapes: The Choreographer Uwe Scholz (2006)

In retrospect, the solo version of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring can be interpreted as a bleak, oppressive dance about his own life. The ballet is one of the late works by Uwe Scholz, one of the most important choreographers of the twentieth century. During his short life, this former wunderkind created over 100 ballets, including Major stage successes such as Die Schöpfung, Die Grosse Messe and Bruckner 8. Scholz was regarded as a sensitive, highly musical artist with a fine sense of humor, but again and again, he was plagued by an excruciating perfectionism, self-doubts and fears. At times, they made work impossible for him. “Sometimes the great artist’s path does not lead to laurel-wreathed solitude, but to deep despair,“ writes the ballet critic Klaus Geitel looking back on Scholz’s life. The film Soulscapes is a highly personal, moving portrait of Uwe Scholz, who died on November 21, 2004, at the age of 45. In one of his last interviews with the director Günter Atteln, Scholz talks about himself and his work with an unprecedented openness. “I’m drawn to symphonic music from the Classical and Romantic periods. I simply need these soulscapes,“ he said.