Esther Baker-Tarpaga's Page

My Role

Artist, Arts Lover, Arts Institution

My Discipline(s)

Dance

About Me And My Work

Esther M. Baker-Tarpaga, choreographer, dancer and filmmaker, has a B.A. from Bowdoin College in French and Anthropology and an M.A. in Dance and M.F.A. in Choreography from UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures Dept. She is co-founder and co-director of Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project, which has performed and taught classes in the USA, Botswana, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Senegal and South Korea. BT Dance Project is a transnational company that intertwines West African dance and postmodern dance with live music to create physically powerful dance theatre. Recent works in 2008 include Los Angeles premieres of Dar Es Salaam at the Alex Theatre, Sira Kan/On the Road at the REDCAT NOW Festival and VSA N4th Wild Dance West Festival in New Mexico, and Disorder Inside Order at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. In 2007 Esther was invited as a cultural Envoy to teach contemporary dance and to choreograph a new piece for Djoliba National Ballet in Conakry, Guinea. Her solo “Abre D’Adaptation” choreographed for Burkinabe dancer Wilfried Souly won best choreography for the Los Angeles Emerging Above Ground Festival in April 2007. In 2006 she was invited as a Cultural Envoy through the U.S. State Department to teach and perform in South Africa (Heart of the Arts), Botswana (Maitisong Festival), and Burkina Faso (Dialogue De Corps). She has worked with Senegal-based artists such as Compagnie Kakat’Art, Compagnie 1ere Temps, and hip hop artist Keyti of Dakar All Stars. Her dance films have screened at numerous festivals and she co-produced United Nations of Hip Hop, which screened at AFI International and NYC Pan African Film Festival. Esther has performed in the work of Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Victoria Marks and is currently dancing in David Rousseve/REALITY new work Saudade, which performed in 2009 at Jacobs Pillow, Yerba Buena San Francisco, University of Maryland Clarice Smith, Montclair State University, and Columbia College Chicago. She implemented and led UCLA’s first summer study abroad program in Senegal at Germaine Acogny’s Ecole de Sables and is the recipient of a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, a Durfee, and UCIRA grant. In Los Angeles she has performed at REDCAT, Highways, Electric Lodge, The Alex Theater, The Bootleg Theatre, Glorya Kaufman Hall UCLA, The Fowler Museum, The Skirball Cultural Center, and The Getty Museum. She has recently taught courses and choreographed work with students at Marlborough High School, Rio Hondo College, Cypress College, and the HeArt Project artist in residence. She joins the faculty as an assistant professor at The Ohio State University Department Dance in September 2009. www.btdanceproject.com

Art Forms And Cultures I Would Like To Engage With

Working with visual artist/set designer, contemporary musicians, amazingly talented dancers and actors from contemporary dance backgrounds with hybrid dance forms.

My Creative Influences & Favorite Artists

David Rousseve
Vic Marks
Pina Bausch
Salia Ni Seydou
Heddy Maalem
MIA
SABAR DRUMMING and dancing
Nature
Migration
Ralph Lemon
Batsheva
Jodi Foster
Germaine Acogny/Kota Yamazaki/Jant Bi
Amadou Kienou

and more....

My Artistic Affiliations

Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project, DAFRA Drum and Dance Ensemble, David Rousseve/REALITY

My Web link

http://www.btdanceproject.com