"very real transformation of energy, from mundane to crackly and potent." 

Artist Statement

I view dance as a powerful medium for liberation, empowerment, and transformation, both at the cellular and community levels. I am a white cis-gender dancer and mother in Philadelphia.  I create recycled costumes and intimate installations, embedding art in unconventional spaces. For the past 11 years in South Philly/Lenapehoking, I have co-organized multidisciplinary, site-responsive projects that use art to engage communities in discussions about social issues. Improvisation in nature has become integral to my practice, especially during the pandemic when I danced daily by the Lenape Sippu/Delaware River. My work aims to foster connections between audiences and nature, collaborating with dancers, storytellers, musicians, and rappers in meaningful settings. After events, we collectively clean the riverbanks, reinforcing our commitment to environmental stewardship. My choreography draws inspiration from diverse locations, including the Delaware River, the Tijuana border, and the streets of Ouagadougou. I invite audience members to participate by passing them twinkling lights, blurring the line between performer and observer, and encouraging reflection on resilience and community.I build performances that are visceral and ethereal, classic and pop, sensual and senseless, fleshy and fake, volatile and peaceful, humble and voluptuous. My work is site-responsive, collaborative, and centers on art as a vehicle for social action.

Bio

Esther Baker (MA, MFA UCLA) is a choreographer, interdisciplinary artist, parent, educator, and artistic director. She co-organizes projects that are multidisciplinary, site-responsive, and collectively derived; aiming for an ethic of shared leadership and decolonizing practices. She recently performed with NJafane Festival and La Ville En Mouv’ement in Dakar, Senegal creating site responsive performances in the streets with Senegal-based dancers and musicians. In April she organized an Earthday Clean Up event at a Community Garden and Painted Bride in West Philadelphia and at Washington Avenue Green where there were performances, storytelling kite building, free massages, and a litter pick-up. She is co-founder of Propelled Animals (www.propelledanimals.org) , an interdisciplinary arts and social justice collective and recipients of a MAP Grant, USAI Fund, and part of Trade School Philly Detroit. With her collective Propelled Animals, she devised “Call Her By Her Name: Lenape Sippu” a performance procession from Lenape Sippu (Delaware River) to Cherry Street Pier with support from Philadelphia Contemporary and Trade School Festival. She is part of Interdisciplinary Artist Consortium and is an incubated artist at Headlong Philadelphia. She currently teaches at Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance and School of Public Health. She recently performed at Cannonball Philly Fringe Festival, La Ville en Mouv’ment, Dakar, Palmerin Festival, Senegal, Cherry Street Pier,  The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education,  ArtYard, New Jersey, The Chicago Architecture Biennale, No New Idols Festival in Riga, Latvia, Lynden Sculpture Gardens, Milwaukee, Grinnell College, The Englert Theatre, Tamadia Arts Festival France, The Wassaic Festival NY, LabBodies Baltimore, Vox Populi Philadelphia, Bali Spirit Festival, Indonesia, InsideOut Festival, Burkina Faso, and Kelly Strayhorn Theatre, Pittsburgh. She has taught at the University of Milwaukee School of Dance, University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Princeton University, University of Iowa, Ohio State University, and internationally in Morocco, Senegal, Mexico, and Hong Kong. She co-directed Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project from 2004-2018, a transnational dance company based in Ouagadougou and Philadelphia. She was an Artist in Residence at RAIR, Marin Headlands, and is a recipient of a NY Live Arts Suitcase Fund, NY Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, and was a US Cultural Envoy in Guinea, Botswana, and South Africa. She grew up in the foothills of occupied Arapaho/Cheyenne/Ute/Fort Collins, Colorado and now lives in occupied Lenapehoking/Philadelphia. She is a licensed massage therapist in PA www.madronemassage.com.