Join us at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto on May 25 for the first iteration of MOCA Live. Experience a uniquely up close and personal celebration of contemporary dance through the electrifying works of Peggy Baker and Cameron Fraser-Monroe. The fundraiser will run from 7:30–10 pm, and include a cocktail reception and hors d’oeuvres. Performances begin at 8pm.
Presented thirty years after their debut, two historical works by renowned choreographer and dancer, Peggy Baker, are reinterpreted by a new generation of dancers, bringing fresh meaning and expressions, while reflecting on the continuities that stretch across time and through the human experience, in an intimate setting.
Following the performance of Peggy’s works, guests will get to watch the debut of a new site-specific performance by choreographer and dancer, Cameron Fraser-Monroe. His unique choreographic vision, informed by an eclectic mix of hoop dance, ballet, and Ukrainian dance, will bring exhilarating and dynamic layers to the evening. Fraser-Monroe’s work reveals the fluidity and adaptability of dance as an art form, traversing various cultural and traditional landscapes.
Guests are also invited to experience our triennial exhibition, Greater Toronto Art 2024, on view throughout the Museum during the evening.
Acknowledgements
MOCA is grateful to lighting designer Gabriel Cropley for his contribution to the evening’s atmosphere, as well as the Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre for their generosity towards the production of this evening.
MOCA Live is a fundraising initiative designed to provide an intimate and unique experience unlike any other in the city. Guests are invited to witness movement and dance at a closer proximity and intensity. This new series builds on recent exhibitions and public programmes that have embraced the work of esteemed choreographers and performers. Set after hours and within the raw industrial spaces of the Tower Automotive Building, new live works are premiered for an evening, extending the museum’s commitment to cross-disciplinary approaches, site-specificity, and the possibilities of art. Similarly, this series makes space for artists to experiment in new ways and with other formats.
This signature fundraising event engages museum patrons, as well as artists and members of the arts community, to come together to support the museum and celebrate.
About the Choreographers & Performances
Peggy Baker is one of Canada’s most celebrated and influential dance artists, respected as a performer in the work of esteemed Canadian and American creators; as an educator in conservatory dance programs throughout North America; and as a choreographer of potent and visually striking works for her Toronto based company, Peggy Baker Dance Projects.
Among her many efforts to contribute to cross generational exchange in Toronto’s dance milieu is The Choreographer’s Trust, a 10-year project initiated in 2002, through which she was able to pass on six of her landmark solos to extraordinary new generation dance artists.
Through Peggy Baker Dance Projects (1990–2023) she has been presented in theatres, galleries, public spaces and on media screens across Canada and the U.S., as well as Mexico, Argentina, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Korea, and Japan. Among her many awards: The Order of Canada, the Governor General’s Award and The Carsen Prize.
Brute
Music: Sergei Prokofiev (Sonata no. 6 in A major, opus 82, 1940)
Recording: pianist Andrew Burashko (used with permission)
Choreography: Peggy Baker
Dancer: Katherine Semchuk
Costume design: Caroline O’Brien after Jane Townsend
Lighting Design: Gabriel Cropley after Marc Parent
Brute premiered in 1994 for the Vancouver Recital Society, performed by Peggy Baker and pianist Andrew Burashko.
In a Landscape
Music: John Cage (In a Landscape, 1948)
Recording: pianist Stephen Drury (used with permission)
Choreography: Peggy Baker
Dancer: Tanya Howard
Costume design: Jane Townsend
Lighting Design: Gabriel Cropley after Marc Parent
In a Landscape premiered in Toronto in 1995 at fFIDA – the Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists – performed by Peggy Baker with pianist Henry Kucharzyk.
Cameron Fraser-Monroe is a member of the Tla’amin First Nation. He was privileged to study with World Champion Hoop Dancer Dallas Arcand, with Elder Mollie Bono in Grass Dance, and with the Zirka Ukrainian Dancers.
Fraser-Monroe has performed with many companies including Dancers of Damelahamid, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Jera Wolfe, and Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada. He has also performed at Saint-Sauveur Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Festival. As a choreographer Fraser-Monroe has received commissions from numerous institutions, including the National Ballet of Canada and Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
For the past five years Fraser-Monroe has served as Artistic Director of the Winnipeg Summer Dance Collective, making dance more accessible in downtown Winnipeg. He is currently the Choreographer in Residence at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, their first in 20 years.
Brace
Choreography: Cameron Fraser-Monroe
Dancer: Katie Couchie
Brace was conceived in Toronto in 2024 as a site-specific commission on the 9th Floor of the Tower Automotive building–performed by both Cameron Fraser-Monroe and Katie Couchie.
About the Dancers
Tanya Howard was born in South Africa and trained at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. After a year at Canada’s National Ballet School, she joined the National Ballet of Canada as an apprentice in 1998 and was promoted to first soloist in 2007. During her 25-year career with the company, Tanya relished working with many world renowned choreographers including William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Peggy Baker, Crystal Pite and Wayne McGregor.
Katherine Semchuk, a Tkaronto-based dance artist, is a graduate of Victoria School of the Arts (Edmonton) and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. She has the privilege of working closely with Peggy Baker through mentorship, repertoire and collaborations. In 2023 she toured her co-creation, Maybe we Land, nationally with Meghann Michalsky, and is currently a company member with Radical System Art (Shay Kuebler/Vancouver) and Côté Danse (Guillaume Côté/ Toronto).
Katie Couchie is an Anishinaabekwe Oji-Cree dance artist from Nbisiing (Nipissing First Nation), now based in Tkaronto. She has worked with companies and choreographers including Kaha:wi Dance Theatre (Santee Smith), A’nó:wara Dance Theatre (Barbara Diabo), Human Body Expressions (Hanna Kiel), and The Community Arts Guild of Toronto. Couchie has received a Dora nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble for the production of Homelands created by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and has performed at events including the FODAR Dance Festival (2023), Governor General’s Performance Awards (2023) and APTN’s Indigenous Day Live (2022). Next, she is excited to perform again with Kaha:wi Dance Theatre in their premiere of SKéN:NEN.
