Ground-breaking digital dance project confronts climate change
As thoughts turn to taking care of the Earth this World Environment Day, Arts Council England supports a ground-breaking dance-film project, inspired by Antarctica and climate change.
unusual and inspiring - a triumph for dance and digital media
Corey Baker’s Antarctica Live has received an £89,004 National Lottery grant as part of Arts Council’s Grants for the Arts scheme to showcase and tour the first ever dance film made in the Antarctic wilderness.
Birmingham-based, New Zealand-born Baker, whose previous commissions have seen him take dance outside of theatres and into unusual spaces, was compelled by climate change and a boyhood fascination for Antarctica, to travel to the Southern-most continent of the world for his latest project.
Commissioned by Random Acts for Channel 4 and digital development organisation The Space, and supported by Antarctica New Zealand, the piece is inspired by the austere beauty and fragility of the ice and snow structures. To date Antarctica: The First Dance has almost reached two million viewers online.
The contemporary ballet featured in the film is performed by Madeleine Graham, star of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Two years in the planning, Baker, Graham and director of photography Jacob Bryant danced and filmed in temperatures ranging from -2.4 to -16 °C for 12 days in February.
cleverly draws attention to the urgent issue of climate change – it is timely, artistically ambitious and not something anyone has attempted previously
Catherine Bray, Random Acts, Channel 4
The Arts Council funding will support the creation of a touring exhibition by Corey Baker Dance, with live material, complemented by the dance film, a 360 virtual reality experience of Antarctic locations, and a documentary about the entire residency.
There will be a live dance performance created in Birmingham, and Antarctica Live will play 26-shows across a tour to include Birmingham, Bradford’s National Science & Media Museum and London’s Science Museum.
Peter Knott, Area director for Arts Council England, said: “This unusual and inspiring project is a triumph for dance and digital media, really pushing the boundaries between performance and audience.
“The arts give us new ways to explore and understand the world around us, and this ambitious piece helps us to question our relationship with nature and consider the delicate beauty and diversity of different environments.”
Choreographer Corey Baker said: “It’s an immense privilege and mind-blowing experience to create and film a dance on Antarctica which will I hope bring people a little bit closer to understanding this unfathomable place, showing it off in a way that has never been done before.
“It is a world first; we have made history with this project, which is incredible. I am passionate about three things: making dance for spaces that are not theatres; campaigning for climate justice; and now Antarctica, which, as a New Zealander myself, has always been a magical and somewhat mystical place to me.”
The film was first screened as part of the Earth Day celebrations at Somerset House, London on 22 April, and is now available to watch and share online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_sq59Ajwv4
a stunning work that highlights contemporary issues and prompts debate
Fiona Morris, Chief Executive and Creative Director at The Space
