About this Artist

They are from Minas Gerais, Brazil, but their ballet crosses borders. Brazil as a whole, with all its cultural diversity, can see itself in GRUPO CORPO, the dance company founded in 1975 in Belo Horizonte. In a world where the speed of information is producing an increasingly homogeneous landscape, they stand out for having developed a signature of their own. 

There are three basic reasons for the uniqueness of the company in the contemporary dance scene. First, there is Rodrigo Pederneiras, the house choreographer: one of the few able to mix classic ballet and folk dances and then set to motion bodies that push the limits of technical rigor. Second, the wisdom with which Paulo Pederneiras transforms choreography into a dance artwork. Besides directing the company, he creates the scenography and lighting designs that customize the scenic finish for each production with a kind of quality that continues to introduce new references. Part of those are the costumes by Freusa Zechmeister, the result of a skill capable of translating clothing into movement. And third, there is a balanced cast of dancers, stars in their own right, fine-tuning each other with exquisite precision.

When one sees GRUPO CORPO dance on stage, it is as if all questions concerning the transition between nature and culture were being fully answered. All facets of Brazil, past and future, erudite and popular, foreign influence and local color, and the urban and the suburban come to being as art. Brazilian art. World art. – Helena Katz