GRUPO CORPO
REPERTOIRE
CHOREOGRAPHY | RODRIGO PEDERNEIRAS |
MUSIC | MARCO ANTÔNIO GUIMARÃES |
SET | PAULO PEDERNEIRAS |
LIGHT | PAULO PEDERNEIRAS, GABRIEL PEDERNEIRAS |
COSTUMES | FREUSA ZECHMEISTER |
WORLD PREMIERE | AUGUST 5, 2015, BELO HORIZONTE |
LENGTH OF PERFORMANCE | 42 MIN |
Created to celebrate Grupo Corpo’s 40th anniversary, Symphonic Dance is built on the memorialist theme proposed by Artistic Director, Paulo Pederneiras. In this first symphony created especially for the Minas Gerais dance company, Marco Antônio Guimarães, the author of anthological works such as 21 (1992) and Bach (1996), combines a sophisticated plot with original pieces and evocative musical passages from ballets recently produced by Grupo Corpo. The set of themes, written masterfully for the 90-member Philharmonic Orchestra of Minas Gerais, and interconnected by ingenious musical bridges performed by the Uakti group, allows Rodrigo Pederneiras to revisit the best works from the group’s entire repertoire, and also to process, with the experience accumulated through decades of working on detachment of form, a kind of synthesis of a choreographic scripture assembled over 34 years of residence at the company.
Taken from the private collections of professionals who have collaborated with or had an influence on the trajectory of Grupo Corpo over these 40 years Grupo C – from dancers and maîtres de ballet to technicians and stewards – over a thousand informal photographic snapshots make up the 8m x 16m backdrop panel, establishing the mood for the show.
In contrast to the everyday character of the situations represented in the photographs, wine-red velvet curtains cover the base of the theater while the legs of the dancers are covered in tights of the same color, giving the performance a discrete air of solemnity.