‘Cinq jours au soleil’ [Five Days in the Sun] sounds like a seaside escape, an enchanted getaway, or maybe even a honeymoon. While the poetic title of Emanuel Gat’s newest creation remains enigmatic, its soundtrack is instantly recognisable. Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 is a monumental piece of orchestral music, and the film Death in Venice by Visconti made its Adagietto a household melody. Mahler composed it during a period of creative renewal, after recovering from a life-threatening haemorrhage and meeting the fascinating Alma Schindler, who would soon become his wife.

As in his other creations, Emanuel Gat establishes an intimate dialogue between dance and music that goes far beyond simple illustration. He has imagined five tableaus — one for each of the symphony’s five movements — that open five choreographic doors to an emotional journey into the heart of the human experience. Like Mahler himself in 1901, the piece moves from darkness into light, from despair to joy, and from tension to ease. It also provides ample evidence of our ability to transcend crises by looking at life from different perspectives.