Leaps & bounds
New Zealand Listener|July 23 - 29, 2022
Kiwi choreographer Corey Baker has built an international career on bold moves. His next step is the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
LOUISE CHUNN
Leaps & bounds

Truly creative people are phenomenal. They build stories out of air, music out of silence, artworks out of base elements. As American novelist Kurt Vonnegut wrote, exhorting others to join him with a career in the arts: “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” It’s exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure.

At least that’s how it seems, talking to British-based Kiwi choreographer Corey Baker on a Zoom call. At first, he’s in his office at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, one of the main venues for the Commonwealth Games. He is choreographing the opening ceremony, which will be screened in New Zealand on July 29 (see our Commonwealth Games on TV guide, p66).

Next, he’s walking around the athletic track, and then on his way to a meeting. He’s never less than present with me on the call, but he’s also on to the next thing, simultaneously.

“I feel I am like a persistent toddler – I do lots of things at the same time, and I don’t give up,” Baker says. “I suppose that’s tenacity. I don’t see any other way than the way I want it to be.”

This may be how, in 2020, he managed to create, without ever meeting the participants, a short film featuring a host of international ballet dancers from around the world.

Made for the BBC, it was shot in the dancers’ own bathtubs, as they performed to the instantly identifiable tones of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. At just over three minutes long, it was one of the viral video hits of the pandemic.

This story is from the July 23 - 29, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July 23 - 29, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW ZEALAND LISTENERView All
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024