Maybe you can’t and shouldn’t try to explain a choreographic work. When asked, “what is the work about?”, the accurate answer would be: “well, I have no idea, we have to wait and see”. The only thing pre-determined when it comes to choreography, the way Emanuel Gat sees and practices it, is the HOW. The WHAT, the WHY, the WHEREOF, are all elements which emerge from the thing as it is happening.

Asking what a choreographic work is about, is like asking what the score is before a football match has even begun. And yet inviting to such a live experience should contain that which has actually already been decided on.

Emanuel Gat’s work with the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company will engage with two of the Lieder from Gustav Mahler’s song cycle “Das Lied von der Erde”. Two parts, with “Der Einsame im Herbst” and the last Lied of the cycle, “Der Abschied”, frame a third central part that is without music. Completely different every time it is being performed, the work follows principles in which the choreographic future cannot be designed, but has to be discovered by the dancers each time they engage with the work. Welcome, enjoy the experience!

EMANUEL GAT was born in Israel in 1969 and started working as an independent choreographer in 1994. Over the following ten years, through numerous projects, collaborations and creation processes, Gat developed a unique and personal approach to choreography and dance making, setting the foundations for his artistic vision and laying the groundwork for his future body of work. He founded his company, Emanuel Gat Dance, in Tel Aviv in 2004, and later chose to settle in France. The company has gained international recognition for its unique voice and has toured regularly to the four corners of the world, to great critical acclaim.

For the past 25 years Gat’s work has been presented in most of the leading dance venues and festivals all around the world, danced by a strong and diverse group of long-term collaborators. Parallel to his choreographic work, Gat designs the lighting to all of his works, making it an integral component of his creative process. During his entire career, Gat has developed a rich methodological set of tools and an original pedagogical approach to dance making. He is regularly invited to teach and collaborate with the world's leading dance schools and institutions, as well as offering regular opportunities for young dancers and makers to immerse themselves in his practice, through internships, workshops and master classes.