Headquartered in Belo Horizonte, Brazil (the same hometown as Mimulus), Grupo Corpo was founded in 1975 by Paulo Pederneiras. While the company’s identity is mainly as a group rather than as any one individual’s vision, it is artistic director Paulo Pederneiras who is responsible for the lighting and much of the visual look of the works. His brother, Rodrigo Pederneiras, has been Grupo Corpo’s primary choreographer since 1978. After its initial Pillow program in 1999 (which opened with Parabelo and closed with Nazareth), the company has become a perennial favorite with several subsequent appearances. Parabelo blends regional influences with the concept of anthropophagy, which literally means cannibalism, but in artistic terms refers to a Brazilian modernist movement of the 1920s which adapted foreign culture to local modes.
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