Grupo Corpo was created in Belo Horizonte, in 1975. It is a contemporary dance company, which is typically brazilian in its creations. During Corpo's history, it went through several metamorphosis but it has been guided by three main concerns: the definition of an identity linked to the idea of a national culture (with all the subtlety it implies); the continuity of the work, thinking in terms of future; the integrity in maintaining the self-imposed elaboration standards.
It's first ballet was Maria Maria , and it reached a record as far as local production goes: the company traveled through 14 countries and remained on, in Brazil, from 1976 to 1982. Choreographed by the Argentinean Oscar Araiz, Maria Maria's theme music was sung by Milton Nascimento and the script and lyrics were by Fernando Brant. The Último Trem, also by Araiz, consolidated the first phase of Grupo Corpo and it is accentuated by a particular interpretation of a Brazilian dance
Grupo Corpo was founded by Paulo Pederneiras, who brought along with him his five brothers and sisters and some friends. His parents made room for them in their own home, to accommodate Grupo Corpo.
Paulo Pederneiras is the general director, and later he became responsible for the lighting projects of the ballet, as well. Rodrigo Pederneiras starts as a dancer and, as of 1981, he became the choreographer of practically all of Grupo Corpo's work. Some of the original founders of the Grupo are still members of the Board. They are: Pedro Pederneiras, Carmen Purri, Miriam Pederneiras and Cristina Castilho.
Rodrigo created his first choreography for Grupo Corpo, Cantares, between Maria Maria and Último Trem. Five other may be listed on the first set: Tríptico and Interâna (1981), Noturno and Reflexos (1982) and Sonata (1984). Cantares is from 1978, when Grupo Corpos's Headquarters was inaugurated and, at that time, Emilio Kalil joined the Grupo. Later on he became the co-director with Paulo and remained on that position for a few years.
The construction of a new language
The first major hit of Rodrigo, as a choreographer, would be Prelúdios, in 1985, with music by Chopin. This ballet clearly shows his strong musical connection: The music sheet is translated by pieces which are linked with one another as well as by interwoven lines; and the movement of the dancers "design" on the empty space in a new way, as if in accordance to the principles of the music.
Both the stage as well as the costumes, of Prelúdios, are made in shades of blue. This is much more than just accessory or for decorative reasons. Since then, in all of Corpo's presentation, each element such as the stage setting, costumes and lighting, play an active part in helping to create complex presentations, whereby various arts multiply their own virtues.
The choreography that followed – Bachiana and Carlos Gomes/Sonata (1986), Canções and Pas du Pont (1987), Schummann Ballet, Rapsódia and Uakti (1988) – reinforced Rodrigo's characteristic for creating a spatial like design. His production, in the beginning of the 80's, is strongly linked to the classical ballet techniques but it also has elements of contemporary dance.
In the choreographies from Prelúdios up to 21 (milestone of another phase), Rodrigo tested his control over structures and movement. The classical ballet techniques, which are the basis for his work, are for the first time intercepted by folklore and street dance movements. Corpo begins to display on stage some peculiar movements inherent to the Brazilian people.
In 1988, the German choreographer Suzanne Linke was invited to create a ballet for the company: Mulheres.
From 1989 to 1999, Shell was the main sponsor of Grupo. This partnership not only assured considerable financial stability, but it also contributed so that the company could pursue greater ambitions. The quasi opera like dimensions of Grupo Corpo productions were only made possible because of that. Since then, a creation team has been working together. They are: Paulo Pederneiras, Fernando Velloso, Freusa Zechmeister and Rodrigo Pederneiras. As of 1992, composers are invited to write sound tracks especially for each ballet. So, music, stage setting, costumes and choreography are created simultaneously. Each ballet is the result of this interaction.
Along the years, this partnership with Shell also promoted Corpo worldwide. The Grupo performs annually in Europe and in the Americas. Many other partnerships with the public as well as the private sectors would also be sponsoring Grupo.
Several Arts
Missa do Orfanato ( 1989), with Mozart's music, is a especially moving ballet. Rodrigo molds the dancers' bodies, twisting, curving, stretching the movements. The gestures recompose the melodies aesthetically and translate, to whatever has weight and volume, the most abstract liturgy of the music. Costumes with individual characteristics, bring into the scene individuals stuck to the floor and surrounded by an earthy panel. The lighting supports that while lending a solemn effect, which causes the choreography to be very effective.
The premier of A Criação came on the following year. It's based on Joseph Haydn and it adopted (and this is rare) a pre existing script, extracted from the Bible, and the introduction shows irony and humor.
Três Concertos (1991), with music by baroque composer Telemann, and Variações Enigma, inspired on Edward Elgar's symphony, brought continuity to the existing trend.
By reducing the multiplicity of this dance to a central issue, one can say that the bottom line is the invention of a new language. One that will take into consideration the concrete mobility of the bodies and the construction of a new dimension of space on stage.
The next ballet, 21 (1992) was consecrated as a land mark not only to Corpo's career in Brazil, but it also internationally defined the " Brazilian" style of conceiving dance. The music composed by Marco Antônio Guimarães and interpreted by Uakti, is rhythmically articulated in exchanges and divisions of number 21. In this ballet, Paulo's lighting had a fundamental role. On the first part, for example, simple gestures became spectacular gestures through the creations of scenes where the lighting defined the spaces. The bonding among the Grupo's creators became even more evident.
In Nazareth (1993), Rodrigo established his own language, ranging from the classical tradition to the popular dance. Most of the gestures resulted from the arching of the classical ballet steps, which gained other lines and character, after a variety of broad movements and contortions. A "high" and "low" culture were mixed in the music of Ernesto Nazareth, in the literature of Machado de Assis and were re-written once again in the music of José Miguel Wisnik, which was transformed into dance. From the stage setting of Fernando Velloso to Freusa's costume, the circular gestures around the dancers bodies were multiplied.
In Seven or Eight Pieces for a Ballet (1994), with minimalist music by Philip Glass, (arrangement by Marco Antônio Guimarães), Rodrigo's dancers travel into a computer monitor. Everything is green: Stage, floor, sometimes even costumes. The dancers cut across this stage/monitor, in straight lines from one side to the other. Suddenly, something or someone breaks through, interrupting the regularity and animating the flat geometry with movements from various dimensions.
When celebrating its 20th anniversary, in 1995, Grupo Corpo presented a retrospective with Prelúdios, Missa do Orfanato, Variações Enigma, 21, Nazareth and Seven or Eight Pieces for a Ballet. That's when the Grupo became the residing dance company at the Maison de La Danse, in Lyon, France, until 1999.
1996-2000
The next creation, Bach, premiered in Lyon, France. The music by Marco Antônio Guimarães is a suite made by many of Bach's compositions, with slightly free arrangements. Here, Rodrigo's choreography has an even greater dialogue with the space. The stage setting is signed by Fernando Velloso and Paulo Pederneiras and it has a very active role in the ballet. For example: in the beginning the dancers fall into the stage by sliding through aluminum pipes; at another moment, a black panel is dropped and gradually covers the body of the dancers.
The following choreography, Parabelo, (1997) has the northeast imprinted in it. In the beginning, the dancers can hardly be seen through " dusk". The bodies move around heavily, keeping up with the beat. Five huge heads, placed at the end of the stage, suggest unknown but not unfamiliar worlds—it recalls regions which are religious, which are difficult to cultivate in, and indifference. The musical cells of Tom Zé and José Miguel Wisnik, recreate the music of the back woods of Bahia, which becomes universal in this Great Back Woods. That which comes from the popular dance, brings a raw energy into the movements. The dance is freed, along with the music, and a unrestrained joy takes over.
Benguelê is from 1998. Gestures and sequences which punctuated the last ballets, here appear more diluted, integrated with archaic gestures (of capoeira, for example, or of São João's party dance). But the effort of Rodrigo is in recreating his dance inside another dance. Such as João Bosco does, accommodating his sound track within Arabian music or Debussy's. And the stage setting, along with the lighting, create another level. By including a walkway, the levels are multiplied; an "infinite" walk of the bodies, takes the dance on to another level, which is not that of the stage – it's in our imagination.
As of 2000, Petrobras became the main financial supporter of Grupo Corpo, providing a continuity to the existing projects, on the same scale as prior. The begining of this funding establishes what should be a new cycle of the company. A new ballet, O Corpo, seems very distant from the brazilian back woods archetypes. The " popular" is now of another type and the result couldn't be more different.
O Corpo (2000) is a ballet without nostalgia and with a present which is little ahead of us. The choreography brings on a new direct expression, through the aggressiveness of gestures, which are reacting to the concrete lyrics and music by Arnaldo Antunes. It also brings a movement of the senses among the elements of the ballet: the stage setting becomes the lighting and the costume becomes the stage. O Corpo brings innovations in the choreographer's language. Particularly the arching of the bodies and an "interest on the floor".
Santagustin (2002) marked a new stage in the Brazilian dance company's career. The music composed by Tom Zé and Gilberto Assis specially for the show was given suggestive names such as "chorus of pragmatic women", "chorus of non-conformist women", "chorus of witty women", "chorus of the female-men", and "chorus of selfish seducers", with themes ranging from love and humor and melody and artfulness to ardor and sensuality. Desire clearly takes over the stage, bringing men and women together in all possible combinations. The scenery designed by Paulo Pederneiras and Fernando Velloso – a gigantic heart made of plush – fills the stage with the most kitsch and, at the same time, the most impudent. The wardrobe designed by Ronaldo Fraga in green and pink make each dancer stand out through the details in the costumes. Before, the typical Corpo choreography would feature pieces in which an ensemble crossed the stage with geometric dances – one dancer from the ensemble would stand outside for a while and then join back the group. Now the dynamic is concentrated in duos: one body that joins and then juxtaposes the other. Santagustin explores the visceral dynamics of drives, that is, the most intimate space and, at the same time, the most familiar to all of us – small tragedies in comedy accents.
Identity and renewal
Looking backwards, it becomes clear how one ballet leads into another and also how that other one re-invents the prior one. And that this type of reinterpretation shows that O Corpo is no longer just the name of a company, but also of a repertoire and almost of a tradition. To keep this tradition alive is a self imposed task to the company. Its identity is renewed exactly by being able to change. That which assures its continuity is the idea of what the Brazilian dance can be - - as far as representations and, at the same time, a challenge as far as the idea we have of ourselves.
Text: Inês Bogéa
