Corey Baker
Born (1990-06-06) 6 June 1990
Christchurch, New Zealand
Career
DancesClassical, contemporary
Websitecoreybakerdance.com

Corey Baker (born 6 June 1990) is a New Zealand classical and contemporary choreographer, film director and former dancer.[1]

Early life

Baker was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 6 June 1990.[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] The film won the 2021 Prix Italia award for Web Fiction[10]

In 2021, Baker created two dance films focusing on climate justice: ‘Blown’ for the BBC [11] and ‘Leaders of a New Regime’, [12] which uses Lorde’s track of the same title. 'Dance Race', a commission for the BBC's Dance Passion season[13] was broadcast on BBC3 in March 2022.[14]

Baker was chief choreographer and movement director for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.[15]

Personal life

Baker was in a relationship with American actor Jonathan Groff from 2018 to 2020.[16][17][18][2][1][19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Pearson, Anna Frances (20 July 2016). "Interview: Corey Baker, the biggest NZ dance star you've never heard of". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Corey Baker — RNZB". Royal New Zealand Ballet. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 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. ↑ "2021 Winners and Special Mentions". Rai. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "BBC Scotland - Blown".
  12. ↑ "Lorde's climate-conscious track travels to COP26 by wind power". www.nowness.com. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "BBC Arts - BBC Arts - Gear up for Corey Baker's ultimate Dance Race". BBC. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  14. ↑ Dance Passion - 2022: Corey Baker's Dance Race, retrieved 21 March 2022
  15. ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Rehearsals begin for Birmingham's opening ceremony". BBC News. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  16. ↑ "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.
  17. ↑ Paulson, Michael (2 October 2019). "Jonathan Groff Is a Seymour at Heart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  18. ↑ "Corey Baker". Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  19. ↑ Arifien, Elizabeth; Edmonds, Charlotte (1 December 2021). "Move Beyond Words: Corey Baker" (Podcast). Spotify. Event occurs at 41:30. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
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