Silver Ticket Award Mentor
Peggy Baker
dancer, choreographer
Program areas: creative practice, choreographic tools, development of an artist statement, writing & budgeting project grants, responsibilities of a project lead, modes of collaboration, building rehearsal schedules, communication skills with collaborating artists, management and boards of directors
Peggy Baker has been a vivid presence in contemporary dance for five decades, performing internationally in the work of Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris (with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project), Doug Varone, Tere O’Connor, Molissa Fenley, and Charles Moulton (New York); Fortier Danse-Creation (Montreal); Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancemakers and James Kudelka (Toronto). She established Peggy Baker Dance Projects in 1990, and for the first 20 years she dedicated herself to solo performance, winning rapturous praise for the eloquence and depth of her dancing and accolades for her collaborative partnerships with extraordinary choreographers, directors, musicians, and designers. Beginning in 2010 her choreography shifted focused to works for small ensemble and co-creation with new generation dancers. Over its 33-year history, Peggy Baker Dance Projects was presented at major festivals, theatres and alternative spaces across Canada, and the U.S. (including Los Angeles, Jacob’s Pillow, and multiple venues in New York City), as well as Mexico, Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Korea, and Japan.
Ms. Baker’s many honours include The Order of Canada, the Walter Carsen Prize, the Premiere’s Award, the Governor General’s Award, Honorary Doctorates from York and the University of Calgary, TAPA’s Silver Ticket, and six Doras. She is the long-serving Artist-in- Residence at Canada’s National Ballet School and a past fellow of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the Bogliasco Foundation in Liguria, Italy.
The recipient of the 2019 Silver Ticket Award is Peggy Baker, one of the most outstanding dance artists of her generation who is widely known for her remarkable and carefully crafted performances and creations, as well as for her unwavering commitment to mentorship of younger artists. The Silver Ticket was presented to Ms Baker at the 40th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards, held Tuesday evening, June 25, at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.