Corey Baker (choreographer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Corey Baker is a New Zealand classical and contemporary choreographer, and former dancer.[1]

Early life[]

Baker was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 6 June 1991.[2] He attended a rural primary school in Canterbury.[3]

At age fourteen, he was aspiring to be a musical theatre actor in high school.[1] His English teacher, who ran a ballet class in the center of town, saw him tap dancing in the corridor because of his interest and said, “Ballet will help with that.”[1] Baker left high school at fifteen to join the International Ballet Academy (IBA) in Christchurch; he danced full time for a year.[1] His lead teacher at IBA was Carl Myers.[3]

Career[]

In 2017, Baker became one of three Resident Choreographers at Royal New Zealand Ballet.[4]

In 2018, Baker created the first professional dance performance in Antarctica, which was filmed for Channel 4 (UK) and aired on Earth Day 2018.[5]

In 2020, Baker received a "Culture in Quarantine" commission from the BBC and remotely directed and choreographed a 3-minute film "Swan Lake Bath Ballet", filmed by 27 elite ballet dancers in their homes during COVID-19 lockdowns.[6][7] The film was released in July 2020 and went viral,[8] with over 4 million views by the following month.[9]

In 2021, Corey created two dance films focusing on climate justice: ‘Blown’ for the BBC [10] and ‘Leaders of a New Regime’, [11] which uses Lorde’s track of the same title.

Personal life[]

Baker married a fellow dancer around 2013 and they divorced in 2016.[3]

Baker was in a relationship with American actor Jonathan Groff from 2018 to 2020.[12][13][14][2][1][15]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Pearson, Anna Frances (20 July 2016). "Interview: Corey Baker, the biggest NZ dance star you've never heard of". The Spinoff. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Corey Baker — RNZB". Royal New Zealand Ballet. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Pearson, Anna Frances (29 July 2016). "Interview: Corey Baker, the biggest NZ dance star you've never heard of". The Spinoff. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  4. ^ Di Orio, Laura (4 June 2018). "FEATURED New Zealand Dance News – June 2018". Dance Informa. Dance Magazine. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  5. ^ Christian, Dionne (10 December 2017). "Dancing on Antarctica ice a historic first for Kiwi dancer". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  6. ^ Fuhrer, Margaret (8 July 2020). "Please Enjoy the Quarantine Genius of "Swan Lake Bath Ballet"". Pointe Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  7. ^ Wiegand, Chris (27 May 2020). "Swan Lake Bath Ballet to be performed in dancers' own bathtubs". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  8. ^ Lansky, Chava Pearl (21 December 2020). "The Choreographer's New Skill Set: Working From Home". Dance Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Corey Baker Dance has created a new short film entitled Swan Lake Bath Ballet". Dance Informa. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  10. ^ "BBC Scotland - Blown".
  11. ^ https://www.nowness.com/series/just-dance/leaders-of-a-new-regime-lorde
  12. ^ "Julie Andrews, Jonathan Groff". The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Season 5. Episode 817. 21 October 2019. CBS. Note: A short clip from the home movie was played for the television audience.
  13. ^ Paulson, Michael (2 October 2019). "Jonathan Groff Is a Seymour at Heart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Corey Baker". Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  15. ^ Arifien, Elizabeth and Edmonds, Charlotte (1 December 2021). "Move Beyond Words: Corey Baker" (Podcast). Spotify. Event occurs at 41:30. Retrieved 30 December 2021.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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