Fiery affairs, devouring lust, disastrous jealousy, broken hearts, brutal longing, contempt, rancor, and indifference in lyrics that border on the kitsch and dazzlingly beautiful melodies - these are the exuberantly romantic songs written by Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963). They captivated choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras in the mid-eighties, and two decades later in 2004, Grupo Corpo celebrated the all-time greatest genius of Cuban music, opening for the first time since 1992 an exception to the house rule that the dance company would only dance to soundtracks especially composed for them. The result is a 38-minute ballet simply called Lecuona, an infatuating sequence of pas-de-deux followed by a single ensemble number created by Rodrigo Pederneiras to twelve aching love songs and one Waltz by the famous composer of Siboney. Lecuona has a singular character among all the other ballets by Grupo Corpo. Visual and scenery change color every time a new couple takes the stage to dance to one of Ernesto Lecuona's songs. The scenery and lighting design (by Paulo Pederneiras and Fernando Velloso) outlines the scenic space with cubes made of monochromatic light that move within the black box as the partners dance. Domineering, the male dancers get on stage donning patent leather shoes, shirts, and slacks in different shades of black. On gauzy dresses with plenty of slits and cleavage, the fiery female dancers of Lecuona put on high heels (from 2 inches high to 5-inch heels) and dress from head to toes in one invariably warm color that relates to the light shade chosen for their couples. After the pas-de-deux, six couples take the stage to dance a waltz in a gigantic cube made of mirrors (now the women wear long lilting white dresses). Each dancer is multiplied in the play of mirror reflections and the final number becomes a big bright ball from a bygone era.

Source :  Grupo Corpo

“It was only in 1988, when working in Uakti, that I started thinking about what it would be like to make a dance which would be more inside our body”.
 

Rodrigo’s words define a crucial moment not only for his career but also for Grupo Corpo as well. His work, since, can be seen in a variety of exploration of this “dance inside our body” – which is the dance of Corpo.
 

“Our body” learned how to dance on the street and the language of Rodrigo is essentially a modern one. In his own way he harbors the xaxado, the samba, the ball room dance, the celebrations, the capoeira. Everything is translated into a private world, where, dynamics and balance, have even more meaning than movement. Everything with  a certain amount of joy and  humor, which, even though joyous and good humored, does not hide the violence and the  ambiguity  of our condition.
 

Always guided by music, Rodrigo “breaks” the classical movements in an intensely brazilian way, however, entirely free from the exotic, from boastful and from easy identities. One or more dancers separate from a group, as if  pulled by a strong force. The group then reorganizes itself until pressure from another impulse comes on. Circles are rare in such choreography. The stage is built as a central point and the front space is well defined. The lines are the result of the dancers movements and they are formed without a pre-established shape, from the first moment of the creation.   

Source: The company Grupo Corpo 's website

More information : grupocorpo.com.br

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon

Artistic Director: Paulo Pederneiras

Creation: 1975

The contemporary Brazilian dance company Grupo Corpo, founded by Paulo Pederneiras in 1975, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, debuted its first work, « Maria Maria », the very next year. The ballet go on to spend six years on stage and tour fourteen countries. But even though the piece was an immediate critical, popular and commercial success, the group´s distinctive artistic identity, its long-term popularity and its artistic achievements have been the fruits of a long, arduous journey. As a result, the group started operating in its own premises as of 1978. The company´s distinctive features and personality were chiefly molded by Paulo Pederneiras, the man responsible for sets and lighting the group´s performances and its artistic direction and the dancer Rodrigo Pederneiras, who left the stage in 1981 to assume the role of full-time choreographer.

Today, having created 35 choreographies and more than 2,300 pieces, the Brazilian dance company maintains ten ballets in its repertoire and gives 80 performances a year in places as distinctive as Iceland and South Korea, the United States and Lebanon, Canada, Italy, Singapore, the Netherlands, Israel, France, Japan and Mexico. The minimalism of Philip Glass (« Sete ou Oito Peças para um Ballet »); the vigorous pop and urban sounds of Arnaldo Antunes (« O Corpo »); the primordial experimentalism of Tom Zé (« Santagustin » and, with Wisnik, « Parabelo »); the African sensibility of João Bosco (« Benguelê »); the metaphysical verse of Luís de Camões and Gregório de Mattos; the light touch of Caetano Veloso and Wisnik (« Onqotô »); the rootsy modernity of Lenine (« Breu »); the poetry of polarities (« Ímã »): Grupo Corpo has drawn on all of these elements and more to produce shows of a very diverse character – cerebral, cosmopolitan, primitive, existential, tough – while always keeping in sight the company´s distinctive traits.

Source: Grupo Corpo 's website

More information : grupocorpo.com.br