‘THE GOLDLANDBERGS’ Emanuel Gat 30.
(photo credit: Emanuel Gat)
Emanuel Gat, an Israeli choreographer residing in France for the past seven
years, has won international recognition, so it’s a shame it took that long to
invite him back to let our audience get a taste of his new work.
His
latest, The Goldlandbergs, will be officially premiered in Montpellier next
month, where he will serve as co-artistic director of the dance festival’s 2013
edition.
The name of the piece refers to J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations
and to the documentary radio show The Quiet in the Land, created by Glenn Gould
in 1977. Gat interwove Gould’s unsurpassed recording of that score from 1981
with the already intricate and layered sound and voice track of the radio
show.
With only seven dancers, Gat’s challenging choreography found a
subtle and rather sophisticated way to form a dialogue between the visual
composition of the movement and the complex soundtrack. He did it with great
sensitivity to moods, restrained pauses, crystal-clear quality of execution and
attention to minute details. Like a refined haute couture, it carries great
sincerity and cohesion of elements.
Gat was never concerned with show-off
effects, but followed inner impulses and intensities, never loosing the human
proportions of stage interactions. One can also see that in the choice of his
dancers; varied in age and physical traits and projecting unique individuality.
Their encounters are short and fragmented, and between them are islands of
silence. The Goldlanbergs go beyond the temptation to compare the dance
variations to Bach’s only variation-based score.
Gat’s severity
restrained the action on stage and at times shifted the balance of ear-eye
perception, perhaps making for a less accessible creation. In spite of that, or
possibly because of that, that work is unsettling and resonates long after the
curtain goes down.