Beautiful Day (1992)
It was with no small measure of regret that I left The White Oak Dance Project in 1990, along with the company’s repertoire of magnificent dances by Mark Morris. So once I was settled in Toronto I contacted Mark to ask if he might make a duet for Christopher House and me. I hadn’t yet had the chance to dance with Christopher, and I thought a duet by Mark would be a spectacular way of thanking him for The Windows, the solo he made for me in 1989. I also thought it would be a way of sharing some part of the incredible world that had opened up for me during my time in New York.
Mark had just begun a new duet with some of his company dancers – work he would have to interrupt to fulfill a commission for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens – and he suggested that Christopher and I work with him in Montreal, learning the first half of the duet from video of his dancers and then finishing the work with us to take back to his company. The time together was absolutely magical, and the duet a jewel! - PB
From Mark: I was working on Beautiful Day with three couples from my company, the Mark Morris Dance Group, at the same time as I was working in Montreal with Les Grands. Peggy, Christopher House, Teri Weksler (as my assistant) and I worked together to finish the piece. It was premiered by my dancers (originally Clarice Marshall and Keith Sabado) at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom in 1992. The dance gets its title, and is set to, the aria “Schlage doch, gewünste stunde” from a rarely performed cantata (attributed to J.S. Bach, but unlikely) for alto voice, strings, and handbells. It is built on a study in combining angular momentum with spiral force, whatever that means. I must say, it was an enormous pleasure to work with Peggy and Christopher, both fabulous dancers, Canadian National Living Treasures, and my friends. And it’s a beautiful dance.” - MM
related links
Read about Peggy’s move from New York to Canada, with a stint at White Oak Dance Projects in between, in her blog post White Oak and the Great White North.
Listen to a 1992 CBC radio interview with Peggy and host Vicki Gabereau here.
Read more about Melchior Hoffman, the more likely composer of the music than J. S. Bach here on Wikipedia
credits
choreography: Mark Morris
music: attributed to J.S. Bach or G.M. Hoffman (Sclage doch gewunschute Stunde, BWC 53)
costumes: Susan Ruddie
lighting design: Marc Parent
dancers: Peggy Baker and Christopher House
premiere
Ottawa ON
June 27, 1992
NAC Theatre
Northern Telecom 1992 Canada Dance Festival
subsequent presentations
Burnaby BC
July 10 & 11, 1992
Simon Fraser University Theatre
Burnaby Summer Festival of Music and Dance
Toronto ON
October 2, 1992
Premiere Dance Theatre
IMZ Congress Gala
Toronto ON
November 25 - 28, 1993
Premiere (now Fleck) Dance Theatre
CIBC Dance Series
media links
See 1992 in the media and awards archive
photography
As credited.
