'It's insane to me' - the Kiwi who created the viral 'Dead Dance' from Wednesday
London-based choreographer Corey Baker has had "quite a crazy year".
Since series two ofWednesday came out this August, over 78 million people have watched the 'Dead Dance' that Baker choreographed for the Netflix show, and a "staggering" 1.8 million have uploaded their own version online, he says.
Lady Gaga - who appears in Wednesday's second series- was originally supposed to "gift" her song 'The Dead Dance' to the show, Baker says, but liked the choreography so much she asked to be taught it.
In person, the 39-year-old pop icon was "absolutely tiny and completely fierce", he tells RNZ's Saturday Morning.
After catchy dance moves became synonymous with Wednesday's first season in 2022, there was a big expectation for season two to also feature some iconic choreography, Baker says.
The big dance number in season two, which he choreographed, illustrates the "special relationship" between the central character Wednesday's roommate Enid (played by Emma Myers) and her obsessed fan Agnes (played by Evie Templeton).
Told the dance would be to a Lady Gaga song, Baker presumed it would be a well-known hit like 'Poker Face'. Later, he learnt it was actually a brand new, top-secret Gaga song he would be creating a dance for, and was sent a secure link to 'The Dead Dance'.
"I may or may not have recorded it. I may or may not have listened to it over and over and over again, slightly drunk with power for about a year, having this secret Lady Gaga song."
Corey Baker attends the UK premiere of Tim Burton's film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in August 2024.
Credit: See Li/Picture Capital / Alamy Stock Photo
Tim Burton's screen sensibility has always been on an influence on Baker's choreography, he says, and for the 'Dead Dance' he worked closely with the acclaimed director, who he describes as "the most collaborative person in the world".
"With Tim, I kind of make sure everything's just a little bit off-kilter. It's a bit quirky. If someone's putting their arm up, their head might be to the side, or something, makes it a little bit leftfield."
After seeing Baker's choreography, Lady Gaga learnt the dance from him and later performed it in her own music video (choreographed by fellow New Zealander Parris Goebel) and in live performances.
As a result of working simultaneously for Lady Gaga and Wednesday Baker's social media presence got "supercharged", and he says being in the spotlight has at times felt weird and difficult.
"I never wanted to have a TikTok account. I never wanted to make TikTok dances or anything like that. But this sort of won me over because of the joy it brings people.
"Seeing different people, dancers or not dancers, around the world get involved and moving their bodies and having some joy, it just really touches my heart, and it makes it all worthwhile."
The beauty of dance is that it's for absolutely everybody, Baker says.
"It doesn't matter your age, your ability, your ethnicity or class. Whether you learn from a YouTube video, or you go to private dance classes or anywhere in between.
"It's good for your mental health, your physical health. And growing up, I think it does give you a profound confidence, A, in your body and the way that you interact and B, a community as well."
After choreographing the 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Baker says he breathed in and cried when he landed back on home soil.
"If you've ever gone away from New Zealand and come back... the air smells different. It's just so nice. My entire nervous system just sort of reset and relaxed. And it was so, so magical."
