StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

REVIEW: Emanuel Gat Dance Company – Adelaide Arts Festival

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 st
Artshub Logo

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

Rohan Shearn
About the Author
Rohan’s background in theatre administration and event management dates back many years and has included positions throughout metropolitan Melbourne, regional Victoria and New South Wales. Key appointments include General Manager for the Riverina Theatre Company, Northern Rivers Performing Arts and the Feast Festival in Adelaide. He has had the opportunity to work on a diverse range of productions from intimate theatre through to large-scale warehouse events. In 2006 he was engaged as one of the Precinct Operations Supervisors for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Currently, he is the Creative Producer for Byte Media and Adelaide Editorial Coordinator for AussieTheatre.com, and is also completing his Master of Arts (Arts and Cultural Management) through UniSA.