Her Body as Words

By Norah Witke Mele

Contemporary dance icon Peggy Baker’s new dance film, her body as words, is an exploration of what it means to be a woman today. Presented by Baryshnikov Arts Center, it is made up of nine solo dances, created in collaboration between the performers and Baker herself.

Filmed in portrait (as if to be viewed on a phone) by Jeremy Mimnagh, the dancers move in a dark room, where the lights transform air into smoke, rendering the space countless shades of grey marked by only the barest traces of color. The editing is excellent, almost seamlessly cutting in and out of proximity to the performers. Similarly, the dances are delivered with seriousness and poise, catching complicated shapes between swift articulations of the hands. To Continue….