Corey Baker (choreographer)

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 separated in 2016.[3]

Since early 2018, Baker has been dating American actor Jonathan Groff, whom he met while both were teaching at Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School (CIMTSS), a biennial programme bringing professional musical theatre training to Christchurch.[12][13][14][2][1]

References
  1. 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. "Corey Baker — RNZB". Royal New Zealand Ballet. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. 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.
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