locus plot
locus plot is a dynamic, full-evening work inspired by pristine mathematical equations – intensified by voice, live music and charged physical interactions.
For locus plot, “I’m spinning off on pristine mathematical equations that describe movement in space,” enthuses Baker. Five exceptional company dancers – Ric Brown, Sarah Fregeau, Kate Holden, Sean Ling and Sahara Morimoto – disrupt the underpinnings of schematic mathematical formulae as they explode, collapse and slide into dramatic dance-theatre scenes, while handwritten equations and locus diagrams are projected over the stage.
Baker enlisted three brilliant artists in the development of locus plot. Mathematician John Mighton (Governor General’s Award-winning playwright) helped her navigate the mathematics that inspired the movement, while vocalographer Fides Krucker brings, according to Baker, a new “dimension into my work through vocalization, and it’s been transformative for me.” Pianist and electronic music composer John Kameel Farah created the score, which he performs live.
choreography: Peggy Baker
lighting design: Marc Parent
costume design: Robyn Macdonald
vocalographer: Fides Krucker
composers: John Kameel Farah
dancers
Ric Brown
Sarah Fregeau
Kate Holden
Sean Ling
Sahara Morimoto
Reviews
elegance, harmony and precision
… math conjures ideas of a perfect universe, of elegance, harmony and precision. It’s these qualities that Baker is so good at both capturing and questioning in her piece… There’s a haunting tension between determinism and will in the piece. Tiny bits of chaos erupt and resolve within a system that may or may be completely controlled.”
— Martha Schabas, The Globe and Mail
a wonder of intricacy and construction
“Peggy Baker’s first evening-length work for an ensemble of dancers is a wonder of intricacy and construction.”
— Kathleen Smith, NOW Magazine
Booking
SpiltScreen is available for main stage touring. Presenters with a password may view the full length video here:
Bookings and information: Meredith Potter
Gallery
locus plot, Toronto, 2015. Photography by Makoto Hirata
elegant equations, 2015. As part of the Free Concert Series at the Canadian Opera Company, Peggy Baker shared the inspiration, methods, and motives that underlie the conception and creation of locus plot. Photography by Dragonfly Imagery.