This Ballet Dancer Wants You To Know How Beautiful And Fragile Antarctica Is

And look at how thin her clothes were!

New Zealand choreographer Corey Baker has spent the last five years working in unusual locations. When the idea came to add the Antarctica to his portfolio, he partnered with Australian dancer Madeleine Graham from the Royal New Zealand Ballet and headed south to film on this unique landscape.

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The five-minute video, set to the song "Wild Eyed" by London Grammar and commissioned by Random Acts for Channel 4 and The Space, was released to coincide with this year's Earth Day. Baker wanted people to connect with the location in a positive way through beautiful visuals and an equally beautiful dance.

Channel 4 Random Acts

"We wanted to show its warmer side, as we don’t normally perceive it to be," Baker told BuzzFeed.

"I always wanted to create a film that celebrated Antarctica while still keeping the message about climate change."

Honestly, how breathtaking is this? I'm talking about both the scenery and the dancer!

Channel 4 Random Acts

Baker held an audition to find a solo dancer who was able to create movement with minimal instructions, and was also willing to climb mountains, brace the cold, camp, and even pee in buckets for this project.

"Maddy (Madeleine Graham) definitely stood out," he said. "She was fun, talented and cared about the environment, so it had to be her."

And oh, did she embrace the cold! Graham's ease of movement and incredibly thin clothing is even more impressive because she's dancing in sub-zero degree temperatures.

Channel 4 Random Acts

"Maddy never wore gloves and had a dance costume, which, given the environment, allowed her to get out of the heavy duty clothing for only about 20 to 50 seconds at a time," Baker said.

"After each take we would need to wrap her back up to allow the blood flow to her fingers, then unwrap her, practice quickly and then film."

Baker and Graham had to learn (and re-learn) a lot of things in the 12 days they had in Antarctica. Prior to their trip south, the closest they came to replicating the conditions was in an ice rink and at a snow simulation room at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch.

Channel 4 Random Acts

Most of the choreography, however, had to be devised on the fly when they got to Antarctica, as every movement had to be adjusted according to the landscape.

"Sometimes the snow was impossible to dance on top off as our feet would go straight through it," Baker said. "We also had to undergo 'survival training' when we landed, which involved camping in tents and building an igloo kitchen."

While the video showed a vast landscape for Graham to dance on, Baker said they actually had very limited space to work with.

Channel 4 Random Acts

"Half the locations we wanted to dance and film in we couldn't go to because it was just too unsafe and we couldn't predict if the ice below was solid or not. We'd go to a location and there would only ever be a small part of it that was solid, stable and reliable."

Graham enjoyed the unique experience.

Channel 4 Random Acts

"I didn’t expect to be abseiling down crevasses and climbing ice falls on a rope, or sliding down ski fields on a cleaning sign," Graham told BuzzFeed.

Wow.

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