This autumn, Sadler’s Wells presents the UK premiere of Emanuel Gat’s FIVE DAYS IN THE SUN, running Tuesday 3 – Wednesday 4 November. This new work set to the music of Gustav Mahler marks a significant chapter in the choreographer’s 30-year career. The performance is set to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, which was composed 125 years ago. One of his most celebrated works, the symphony was written following a near-death experience and his whirlwind romance with Alma Schindler. This encounter with mortality and love shapes the emotional landscape of the score, which in turn underpins the journey of the performance.
FIVE DAYS IN THE SUN moves from darkness to light, despair to joy, and tension to release. Across five acts, 12 dancers navigate a layered choreographic voyage, tracing ideas of transformation, resilience and catharsis. Distinctly human, the piece reflects Gat’s ongoing exploration of the performer’s presence, with dancers remaining acutely aware of themselves on stage and the emotional resonance generated through movement.
Emanuel Gat said “FIVE DAYS IN THE SUN is all about the fleeting experience it offers. Like life, there’s no specific meaning to look for beyond the possibility of maybe accessing, even if for just a brief moment, the full experience of things happening and time passing. It opens up a space where the experience of life itself is amplified and shared between dancers and audiences.”
Over the past three decades, Gat has established an internationally acclaimed choreographic practice defined by musicality, freedom and collaboration. At the start of 2026, he formed a new company of 12 international dancers based in Marseille, bringing together artists from Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Israel and Belgium who have developed this new work together.
Following the success of LOVETRAIN2020 at Sadler’s Wells in 2023, Gat returns with FIVE DAYS IN THE SUN, a new work which premiered at Montpellier Danse before touring internationally, including a presentation at the Biennale di Venezia. FIVE DAYS IN THE SUN, runs from Tuesday 3 – Wednesday 4 November.
Tickets are available from the Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com
Images (c) Julia Gat
