First glimpse of historic first dance now available

A scene from Antarctica: The First Dance. Photo / Supplied via Youtube

New Zealanders can now get a glimpse of the first professional dance ever made in Antarctica.

In February, Christchurch born and raised choreographer Corey Baker, Royal NZ Ballet dancer Madeleine Graham and cinematographer Jacob Bryant flew to Scott Base to create and film Antarctica: The First Dance.

A trailer has now been released showing Graham, clad in specially designed thermal dancewear complete with red hat, spinning and leaping across expansive ice framed by bright sun and blue sky. In one shot, she appears to toboggan down a hillside; in another she is suspended from an abseiling-style rope.

The full dance will be released on Sunday, which is Earth Day. The film will celebrate Antarctica and draw attention to the current crisis the continent faces because of climate change.

Baker describes the chance to travel and work in Antarctica as an immense privilege, saying he hopes it brings the public closer to understanding it and showing it off in a way that has never been done before.

On his website, he writes: "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 New Zealander myself, has always been a magical and somewhat mystical place to me".

The trio took part in Antarctica NZ's Community Engagement Programme designed to catch the public imagination and get us learning and understanding more about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

Baker specialises in making dances for spaces which aren't conventional theatres or studios. Last year, he produced Phone Box where the iconic British red telephone box was the star of an attention-grabbing performance.

"I love the physicality of dance and the ability it has to transcend words, there's never a language barrier," he told the NZ Herald.

Baker will now create a new one-act ballet for the RNZ Ballet's Dancing with Mozart season, which starts in Wellington next month before touring the country. This will expand on the Antarctica dance project and aims to transport audiences from the theatre to South Pole.