Corey Baker (choreographer)

Corey Baker
Born (1990-06-06) 6 June 1990 (age 34)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Career
DancesClassical, contemporary
Websitecoreybakerdance.com

Corey Baker (born 6 June 1990) is a New Zealand creative director, choreographer, filmmaker 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

Baker has been Resident Choreographer at the Royal New Zealand Ballet[4] and Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall.[5] In 2018, Baker created the first professional dance performance in Antarctica, which was filmed for Channel 4 (UK) and aired on Earth Day 2018.[6]

In 2020, Baker received a "Culture in Quarantine" commission from the BBC and remotely directed and choreographed a 3-minute film titled Swan Lake Bath Ballet, filmed by 27 elite ballet dancers in their homes during COVID-19 lockdowns.[7][8] The film was released in July 2020 and went viral,[9] with over 4 million views by the following month.[10] The film won the 2021 Prix Italia award for web fiction.[11]

In 2021, Baker created two dance films focusing on climate justice: Blown for the BBC[12] and Leaders of a New Regime,[13] which uses Lorde's track of the same title. Dance Race, a commission for the BBC's Dance Passion season,[14] was broadcast on BBC3 in March 2022.[15]

Baker was chief choreographer and movement director for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.[16] In 2023, he was creative director for the United Nations's Human Rights 75 Concert in Geneva.[17]

Baker's other TV credits include Strictly Come Dancing, Ru Paul's Drag Race Down Under, Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant, The National Lottery's Paralympics GB Homecoming,[18] and advertisements for O2/Dua Lipa and EE.[19] He was choreographer of the 2024 Tim Burton movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.[20]

Personal life

Baker was in a relationship with American actor Jonathan Groff from 2018 to 2020.[21][22][23][2][1][24]

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. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Corey Baker — RNZB". Royal New Zealand Ballet. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ "London's Royal Albert Hall announces four new associate artists". The Stage. 29 March 2022.
  6. ^ Christian, Dionne (10 December 2017). "Dancing on Antarctica ice a historic first for Kiwi dancer". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  7. ^ Fuhrer, Margaret (8 July 2020). "Please Enjoy the Quarantine Genius of "Swan Lake Bath Ballet"". Pointe Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  8. ^ Wiegand, Chris (27 May 2020). "Swan Lake Bath Ballet to be performed in dancers' own bathtubs". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  9. ^ Lansky, Chava Pearl (21 December 2020). "The Choreographer's New Skill Set: Working From Home". Dance Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Corey Baker Dance has created a new short film entitled Swan Lake Bath Ballet". Dance Informa. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  11. ^ "2021 Winners and Special Mentions". Rai. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  12. ^ "BBC Scotland - Blown".
  13. ^ "Lorde's climate-conscious track travels to COP26 by wind power". nowness.com. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  14. ^ "BBC Arts - BBC Arts - Gear up for Corey Baker's ultimate Dance Race". BBC. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  15. ^ Dance Passion - 2022: Corey Baker's Dance Race, retrieved 21 March 2022
  16. ^ "Commonwealth Games: Rehearsals begin for Birmingham's opening ceremony". BBC News. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Human Rights 75 Concert". UN Web TV. UN Department of Global Communications. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  18. ^ Dawkins, Andrew (13 September 2024). "Paralympics GB team celebrate at homecoming event". BBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Corey Baker". IMdb. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  20. ^ Romano, Nick (10 September 2024). "How Beetlejuice Beetlejuice made 'MacArthur Park' scene a sequel to 'Day-O'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ Paulson, Michael (21 October 2019). "Jonathan Groff Is a Seymour at Heart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  23. ^ "Corey Baker". Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  24. ^ Arifien, Elizabeth; Edmonds, Charlotte (1 December 2021). "Move Beyond Words: Corey Baker" (Podcast). Spotify. Event occurs at 41:30. Retrieved 30 December 2021.