Dancer Peggy Baker was asked by choreographer Sarah Chase to write two stories for every year of her life. The creative effort stimulated so many memories that they became the rich material of her latest dances. Baker performed last week at the Heritage Playhouse in a benefit for the Sunshine Coast Dance Society (SCDS), and she proved herself a mighty yarn spinner as well as a unique dancer.
In Baker's piece, The Disappearance of Right and Left, the audience knew it was in for something different when they read the programs. Instead of the usual booklet, Baker had pasted together a series of family photographs depicting scenes from her life, and these vignettes became the basis of her dance. The tales were of a brave soldier who died in No Man's Land, a mother who received medals for her two dead sons, a sister who suffered in childbirth and an almost fatal encounter with a gas stove. They also offered insights into Baker's lengthy career, particularly her encounters with the iconic Martha Graham who was her dance teacher in New York in the 1970s. Graham terrified Baker, but she acknowledges that the training she received was worth it. In 2008 Baker was honoured with two Dora Mavor Moore Awards for outstanding choreography and outstanding performance.
Baker's physique is unlike any other dancer. Her arms are long, her large hands expressive. Throughout the dance they flew like wild birds on a trajectory of their own moving to music from Joni Mitchell and Beethoven. She uses up the stage, owns it, and rivets the audience's attention as she tells her stories, then dances them. The crowd was moved to an ovation.
More performances are offered in the near future. The SCDS and the Coast Academy of Dance will be co-hosting a master class given by Evelyn Hart, a principal dancer at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, on March 31. Then on April 1, Caravan World Rhythms Society and the SCDS will host Hart at the Raven's Cry Theatre in a 60-minute appearance at which the dancer speaks about her career. The sixth annual SCDS Dance Residency takes place Sept. 6 to 12. Those interested in making a submission for the Residency can contact Maggie Guzzi at 604-885-5880.
