Mark Baldwin
Mark will be adding to his blog posts over the coming weeks and months.
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On the Origin of Species
Posted by: Mark Baldwin on 15 June 2009
This project started because my good friend Stephen Keynes, great-grandson of Charles Darwin, asked me if Rambert would be involved in the Darwin year 2009; that was three years ago.
I had been going to stay with Stephen at his house in Cambridgeshire which is full of Darwin memorabilia. Stephen's uncle was the economist Meynard Keynes, and Stephen's father Geoffrey Keynes, a William Blake scholar (amongst other achievements). In short, Stephen, who is 82, comes from a family steeped in the arts and science. My first big piece for Rambert Dance Company, Constant Speed, was also a science based commission from The Institute of Physics; think bouncing molecules and speeds of light. So, taking on something which celebrates 150 years of the publication of On the Origin of Species is my second dance and science piece. It is important to point out that this is not a lesson in evolution, rather I have used it as an inspiration. It is the last paragraph in On the Origin of Species, the most quoted paragraph in biology, which begins ‘It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank..'. Basically it is the paradox of the beauty of nature and the struggle to survive which makes it remarkable.
Evolution is such a rich and diverse subject; many scientists believe it to be the best idea that ever occurred to man. My main scientific collaborator in this project is the Cambridge Professor, Nicky Clayton, Professor of Comparative Cognition. She has, for me, come up with three distinct ways of looking at evolution: past and future, reveal and conceal, all the same but different. Nicky studies birds which she has hatched from eggs, they are the Corvidae family and include: crows, jackdaws, American bush-jays, Asian jays, ravens. The ratio of brain size to their body size is very big, making them extraordinarily intelligent. Nicky tells me they are able to live up to 40 years and she studies how they might plan for the future.
Most importantly, in Nicky's outside-hours, she teaches Argentine Tango and Salsa, making her perfect for this project. She drives a fabulous sports car and owns an especially gorgeous collection of Tango shoes.
Kader Attia is the Production Designer for The Comedy of Change and I'll talk about this important artist next time.
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