Today, April 29 is International Dance Day and to celebrate, Canadian dance icon Peggy Baker presents figures in motion - part lecture, part slide show - free for the public at the Betty Oliphant Theatre at 7:15pm. figures in motion is presented just prior to a performance of her first-ever full evening ensemble work, locus plot, which runs April 24-May 3 at the same location. In honour of International Dance Day, today's performance of locus plot will be pay-what-you-can at the door.
figures in motion illustrates some intriguing ideas from Ms Baker about the fluidity brought to viewing visual art, and how that can equally be applied to viewing dance.
"I'm delving into art history to reveal what I think are intriguing parallels between the evolution of modern dance and the major visual arts movements of the 20th century," says Baker. "I'm looking at some of the ways in which the style, structure, and subject matter of Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Modernism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Post Modernism, and Expressionism are reflected in developments and trends in choreography."
Additionally, she is proposing some parallels in how audiences receive visual art and contemporary dance. "I think when people are viewing a piece of art, there is an assumption of investigation on behalf of the viewer - investigating what the medium of the work is - a painting, a sculpture, an installation; assessing how the hand of the creator is present or absent from the work; and what the work means to the viewer."
Peggy Baker goes on to say: "There is sometimes the misconception held by viewers of contemporary dance that there is a story to be interpreted amongst the movement, that there is an intrinsic meaning being conveyed by the choreographer to the viewer - and in some cases, that's just not the intention."
"I would consider figures in motion to be both a Dance 101 experience for newcomers to dance, and a master class for veteran dance audiences," she says.
Admission to figures in motion is free for everyone. The event takes place immediately prior to a performance of
Peggy Baker's latest work, locus plot, the first-ever full-evening ensemble work choreographed by Baker. Admission to the performance - on April 29 only - starting at 8:30pm is Pay-What-You-Can at the door. Advance tickets to locus plot are available at
www.peggybakerdance.com or by phone at
1-800-838-3006.
In locus plot, five exceptional company dancers -
Ric Brown,
Sarah Fregeau,
Kate Holden,
Sean Ling and
Sahara Morimoto - disrupt the underpinnings of schematic mathematical formulae as they explode, collapse and slide into dramatic dance-theatre scenes, while handwritten equations and locus diagrams are projected over the stage.
Baker enlisted three brilliant artists in the development of locus plot. Mathematician John Mighton (Governor General's Award-winning playwright) helped her navigate the mathematics that inspired the movement, while vocalographer Fides Krucker brings, according to Baker, a new "dimension into my work through vocalization, and it's been transformative for me." Pianist and electronic music composer
John Kameel Farah created the score, which he performs live.
Peggy Baker began her career in 1974 as a founding member of Toronto's Dancemakers, toured internationally with
Lar Lubovitch's celebrated New York company throughout the eighties, and joined
Mikhail Baryshnikov and
Mark Morris for the inaugural season of their White Oak Dance Project in 1990, subsequently forging important creative relationships with Paul-André Fortier (Montreal), James Kudelka (Toronto), and
Doug Varone (New York) through numerous performance projects. She established
Peggy Baker Dance Projects in 1990, and for the first 20 years she dedicated herself to solo performance, winning rapturous praise for the eloquence and depth of her dancing, and accolades for her collaborative partnerships with extraordinary musicians and designers. Since 2010 she has focused her choreography on works for small ensemble. Ms. Baker is Artist-in-Residence at Canada's National Ballet School. She has been honoured with numerous awards for her extraordinary achievements and contributions including the Governor General's Award for Lifetime Achievement (2009), the 2006 Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, five Dora
Mavor Moore Awards, the Toronto
Arts Council's 2002 Margo Bindhardt Award, the 2010 Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
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