Brazilian Dance Company Debuts in San Diego

By Heather Holliday | October 11, 2004

For more than a quarter of a century, Grupo Corpo has been dazzling audiences with its fusion of classical ballet and rhythmic modern dances. On Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 8 p.m. in the Mandeville Auditorium, they will perform their premiere San Diego show, introducing local audiences to their high-energy, stunning dance displays.

Grupo Corpo, Brazil’s most successful dance company, fuses ballet, jazz and modern dance. Music during the show ranges from classical to Brazilian folk to rock to chirping cell phones and quacking ducks. The stages are colorful and dramatic.

The company’s creative collaboration – between choreographer, artistic director, dancers, lighting designer, scenic artist and costume designer – is inextricably integrated. Music, stage setting, costumes and choreography are created simultaneously, resulting in a sense of theatrical composition.

Founded in 1975, Grupo Corpo was created in a Brazil’s Belo Horizonte, a Brazilian mining city, by Paulo Pederneiras, now artistic director. Pederneiras recruited his five brothers and sisters, as well as some friends to work out of his parents' home to construct a dance troupe. Brother Rodrigo Pederneiras, one of the siblings still with the group, is choreographer.

Now an internationally recognized dance troupe, Grupo Corpo has evolved a dance powerhouse.

For information, visit http://www.artpower.ucsd.edu/. To order tickets , visit the UCSD Box Office or call (858) 534-TIXS. Admission ranges from $26 to $36.