Decentralized Choreographic Workshop Emanuel Gat (facilitated by Michael Loehr)
Our 5-day intensive offers a hands-on introduction to Emanuel Gat’s decentralized approach to choreography, developed over 30+ years of creative research and practice. Participants will explore both the mechanics and the philosophy behind his work, gaining an embodied experience of the creative tools as well as insight into the thought processes that underpin the practice.
The intensive will be facilitated by Michael Loehr, who for the past 17 years has been a close collaborator of Emanuel Gat, working as performer, co-creator, choreographic assistant, stager, and workshop facilitator. These workshops have been selling out in Europe and now, in collaboration with SDSU, we offer them to you.
San Diego, CA 5-Day Deep Dive August 17-21
August 17-21, 2026 · 10:30h–4:30h
Facilitated by Michael Loehr
Location: ENS 200 SDSU Dance Studio Theater
A 5-day deep dive into the tools and principles of Decentralized Choreography, designed for professional dancers and young choreographers wishing to explore the methodology in depth.
Daily schedule: 5 hours/day (25 hours total)
Level: Professional dancers, dance students & young choreographers
Language: English
Once booked, you’ll receive a confirmation email along with all practical information.
Cost: $400 If you cannot pay the full tuition, please write to jalter@sdsu.edu to discuss possible payment options or partial scholarships.
Cancellation and refund are possible up to 7 days before the first day of the workshop. After this, no refunds can be issued.
The Deep Dive Experience
The 5-Day Deep Dive is structured as a condensed creative process, following the path Emanuel Gat usually takes when developing new work. Participants will experience his choreographic process in real time, moving organically from generating initial material, to discovering how choreographic structures emerge, and exploring the ways these elements come together into a full choreographic work.
We’ll use tasks and directives to recreate repertoire from the company—not by learning fixed choreography, but by reworking it under the same set of rules. Participants will experiment with how the same material can be applied in radically different ways, developing flexibility, expanding their options, and gaining greater confidence in their movement. Along the way, they’ll analyze choreographic situations, sharpen decision-making, and broaden their capacity to interact and collaborate with others.
This approach allows dancers to gain a deeper understanding of how the practice of Decentralized Choreography functions, the potentials it holds, and how these can be applied to enrich their own creative process, refine their choices, move with greater clarity, and become better dancers.
The workshop will be facilitated by Michael Loehr, who for the past 17 years has been a close collaborator of Emanuel Gat, working as performer, co-creator, choreographic assistant, stager, and workshop facilitator.
