For choreographer Emmanuel Gat, third time's a charm

As choreographer Emanuel Gat sees it, each creation represents the tip of an iceberg, underneath which exists a world of work. The endeavor of creating dance – which Gat enters into with different groups of dancers, be it his company in France, troupes that commission him to create, or the cast of Inbal Dance Theater, for whom he just completed his third work – is defined and determined by the participants.

“It’s like soccer,” he explains. “The players can be professionals or they can be beginners, but the game is always the same.”

Sitting in the sunshine overlooking the Suzanne Dellal Centre’s courtyard, Gat, 55, reflects on his ongoing relationship with the place, Inbal Dance Theater, and the upcoming premiere of Inbal.

Gat began his professional career in Israel 30 years ago, first as a dancer and later as a choreographer. Seventeen years ago, he left for France, where he has lived with his partner and their five children since.

“I realized I couldn’t develop here, so I packed up and moved,” says Gat.

In the near two decades since, Gat has arisen as a celebrated dance maker. He has been invited to create works for companies around the world such as Ballet British Columbia, Czech National Ballet, and Cedar Lake Ensemble. His own troupe, Emanuel Gat Dance, has performed extensively in theaters and festivals in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Over the past four years, Gat has visited Israel several times to work with Inbal Dance Theater at the invitation of CEO Eldad Grupy. “We started with one piece and then we said, ‘Let’s make two more,’” says Gat.

Gat's first creation premiered at the Tel Aviv Dance Festival in 2021

The first creation, Suzanne, premiered in August 2021 as the opening event of the Tel Aviv Dance Festival. Kiryat Gat, his second creation for the company, premiered in December 2022. In July, Gat returned to Tel Aviv to make his third work. He arrived in Israel last week to put the finishing touches on the piece leading up to the premiere.

THE TITLES of the pieces reflect a walk down memory lane that being back in Israel has afforded Gat. “The first time I set foot in a studio was right here,” he remembers, “in a workshop with Nir Ben Gal and Liat Dror. Being here is like stepping into a time machine for me.”

Though Gat does not see his choreographies as purveyors of his personal story, he does allow the setting to influence his work.

“The first time I made a piece for Inbal was a very different type of trip for me than I was used to. Until then, I had only come back to visit. That time, I came to work. I was thinking about being at Suzanne Dellal and what it meant to me. For the second work, I touched on my roots in Kiryat Gat. Now, I am relating to Inbal as the location. I am marking the important points for me professionally in Israel with these works.”

The first creation for Inbal was set to sections taken from Nina Simone’s 1969 concert at New York City’s Philharmonic Hall. In Kiryat Gat, he worked with Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29. For Inbal, Gat reached out to musician David Peretz, who will play live during the performances.

“BlueBand is a great album. I put it on during the first rehearsals and it was very interesting. I called David, though we had never met before, and asked if he wanted to be part of the show,” says Gat. “He said yes.”

The piece begins with an exposition of the parts of the iceberg not normally seen by audiences. The dancers spend 17 minutes building the creation from scratch. They discuss, teach one another movements, and arrange sections that later become the foundations of the performance.

“The audience sees them building, cleaning, learning, and talking. It’s like a rehearsal, but it’s obviously a show, and it’s different every time they do it,” he explains.

“Choreography is composed of people doing things, of actions in time and space.” Gat goes on to say that watching people in action is of deep interest to him both in and out of the studio.

Though he does not relate directly to politics in his artistic practice, Gat is deeply aware of and troubled by the impact of society’s ills on the individual. In his approach, working with groups of dancers is an opportunity to experiment with different structures of living in society.

“My works are choreographic, my religion is choreography,” he clarifies. “I see the process of creation as discovery, that choreography is discovered. The whole thing is about finding alternatives that decentralize society, establishing methods that allow the dancers to be happy. I am looking to create healthy systems in my work.”

Inbal will premiere on Thursday, December 26, at 8:30 p.m., at Inbal Dance Theater. For more information, visit inbal.org.il