Paige Whitley-Bauguess

Paige interprets, recreates, and performs Baroque theatre dance in venues around the world, appearing as a soloist and with dance partner Thomas Baird. A recent performance with Baird was described as "a window on the past...like being caught in a musical and theatrical time warp that reached my ears and eyes as a soft-focus vision of a quite spectacular moment in the history of western performance art," (The Georgia Straight, Vancouver, BC). 

As a soloist, Paige creates programs for a variety of musical groups. Collaborations include a Dance Suite from Alcyone with organist Renée Anne Louprette for the American Guild of Organists, a series of Entr’actes for The Walking Statue at Colonial Williamsburg, and a full program of Characters of the Dance with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. A recent presenter wrote "what [she does] is excellent – artistic, interesting, historic – and downright exciting not to mention fun…one could not ask for more," (Steven Cooksey, Shenandoah University).


Paige is director of the Baroque Arts Project with Barry Bauguess and producer of two baroque dance DVDs: Introduction to Baroque Dance-Dance Types and Dance of the French Baroque Theatre, featuring her artistic collaborations with Thomas Baird. Paige has stage directed baroque opera and theatre for UNC-Chapel Hill, Wingate University, Bloomington Early Music Festival, Magnolia Baroque Festival (with Baird), Peabody Conservatory, East Carolina University, and VOX choral group (Charlotte).


She has served on the faculties of Twin Cities Baroque Instrumental Program, Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, Institute for Early Music on Modern Instruments, East Coast Baroque Dance Workshop at Rutgers University, and Stanford Baroque Dance Workshop. Whitley-Bauguess holds an MA in Dance History from the University of California at Riverside and a BFA in Ballet from the UNC School of the Arts where she also attended high school.


...Ms. Whitley-Bauguess and Mr. Baird appeared to be trading elegant epigrams with their castanets.

Jack Anderson, The New York Times

Baird and Whitley-Bauguess’s Les caracteres de la dance proved a veritable tour de force... 

The Berkshire Eagle (Sheffield, MA)

Whitley-Bauguess’ performance in mask...displays an elegance, ease, and nobility that are not easy to acquire.

Ann Hutchinson Guest, Dance Magazine

Baird’s and Whitley-Bauguess’ attention to detail, the lightness on their feet and their wonderfully sympatico relationship were a treat to observe.

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

...dance class beyond criticism! Helpful, enjoyable, fun, because it was a non-threatening event to newcomers like me. I learned more than I could have imagined about playing baroque music. 

Student, Twin Cities Baroque Instrumental Program