Forming his company in 2004, Israeli choreographer Emanuel Gat makes his Australian debut with three very personal and distinctive dance works.
Winter Voyage opens the evening, a duet Gat created for himself and fellow dancer Roy Assaf performed to Schubert’s Winterraise. Androgynously dressed, the two dancers duck and weave, chasing each other in unison that makes full use of the stage, it is physical yet beautiful in nature.
My Favourite Things is the second offering on the programme, as Gat performs a meditative solo to John Coltrane’s jazz rendition of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic. Intimate and introspective, his flowing movements are juxtaposed against the frantic pace of the music.
The final offering is Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Five dancers – 3 women, 2 men, all dressed in black, perform a pulsating, hypnotic salsa against the tribal rhythms of Stravinsky’s score.
All three works are totally absorbing performed on the stark black canvas of the Playhouse stage. Lighting is minimal and void of any colour, allowing the dancers to be the total focus of the audience.
Gat’s choreography is refreshingly simplistic and beautiful, yet demonstrates a level of define masculinity. In a relative short period of time, he has made his mark in world choreographic circles. I hope we get to see him again much sooner in Australia.
Emanuel Gat Dance Company
Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide
