Thomas Schiretz
Emanuel Gat Dance thrilled with a highly complex and refined choreography at the Bregenzer Frühling dance festival
BREGENZ — Emanuel Gat is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished choreographers of our time—and also one of the most astute. With a sharp intellect, he investigates phenomena that have not yet been seen on the dance stage, and above all, he allows his dancers to find their own physical responses; imposing his own movement language on them, the Israeli-French choreographer considers "almost fascist."
Emanuel Gat Dance had already appeared at the Bregenzer Frühling in 2023 with their energetic piece Lovetrain2020. As in Lovetrain, his latest piece Freedom Sonata (2024) also featured that appealing light opening at the back of the stage, those quick transitions—musical and scenic—as well as moments of silence, during which the dancers present their solos ranging from hyper-agile and spirited to contemplative and meditative. Both choreographies are powerful exclamations in a world shaken by multiple crises—but not loud or flashy ones. Rather, they are exceptionally well thought-out, complex, and densely woven works, whose meaning may only become fully apparent to the viewer upon closer inspection.
A crucial element in Gat’s choreography is the interplay between order and chaos, between the collective and the individual. How can one portray the balance between personal development and collective influence without becoming excessive? A large part of this success lies in Emanuel Gat’s integrated concept of lighting, direction, and choreography—as well as his musical choices, which feature a hybrid structure: an unusual blend of late classical music (Ludwig van Beethoven’s final Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111) and modern hip-hop (Kanye West’s album The Life of Pablo, 2016). Ingeniously combined, this forms the "basic structure" of the piece. “Freedom Sonata becomes a symbolic representation of modern society and its contradictions, a contemporary interpretation of the classical sonata form, uniting old and new musical worlds,” says Emanuel Gat. At the beginning, the dancers appear in white shirts and pants—from boxer shorts to ¾-length trousers—on a black dance floor with a stage enclosed by black curtains. Over the course of the piece, the setting changes to white: white dance mats are rolled out over the black floor, and the curtains are replaced with white ones—but the dancers now wear black.
A Choreography of Perfect Form
A parallel between Pablo Picasso’s world-famous dove of peace and Emanuel Gat’s Freedom Sonata comes to mind. The dove of peace is undeniably one of the world’s most recognized symbols—though few know that it was invented by Picasso. One of the first versions was a realistic image of a white dove on a black background (1949)—white on black! The most famous, however, was The Flying Dove from July 9, 1950, used for the peace congresses in London and Sheffield—the one drawn in a single, continuous line. Just as Picasso drew his dove in a single stroke, Emanuel Gat creates Freedom Sonata in one fluid motion—a choreography of perfect form, nothing superfluous, nothing lacking, everything in perfect measure. The artistic director of the Bregenzer Frühling, Judith Reichart, puts it succinctly: “Emanuel Gat shows with great clarity how we act, how vulnerable we are, and what potential lies in collective movement.” Much applause.