Grupo Corpo. Man oh man! I haven’t seen so much athleticism in dance since I saw Pilobilous in 2007. For the entire two hours, I was largely consumed with the physicality of the performers, and had a hard time absorbing the choreography and the big picture. Really, goodness gracious, these dancers were incredible and partially insane.
The first piece, in green, yellow, gold, and purple unitards, was stunning. The music was incredible, the consistency of the movement was sort of beyond human (there was so much repetition, and yet not boring), the lights were beautiful, but as I said above, I had a hard time seeing anything but the calves on this one girl, or that big man’s spine, or thinking about how much they must be sweating in those bodysuits.
The second piece was a little easier for me to absorb, which is kind of a contradiction, as the amount of acrobatic and unbelievable movement was far more impressive than in the first, this piece at least had contrasting and clear sections, in which I found the time to process what had just happened. The dancers were clad in black and white unitards and seemed to have springs in their sneakers, bouncy balls in their joints, and absolutely no concept of pain. The movement was so precise, difficult, abandoned, and seemingly impossible that I left the show exhausted.
I’m finding myself having a hard time making a point about this show, so I will try to do so now — It was unlike anything I’ve seen in a while. It seemed like the company makes it their goal to wow their audience with little more than sheer athleticism and impeccable unison of nearly 25 people for 45 minutes straight (each act!). For that alone (even though the music, lights, costumes, and choreography were all interesting too) they are an amazing troupe and extremely worthwhile.
I had many similar thoughts about Grupo Corpo Nat. I too gravitated like a bug hypnotized by a light by their physicality and repetition. Though really, those bright colors allow could have accomplished that task. Their energy was outstanding and carried the entirety of Meany Hall for those two hours.
Amy J
I really admire athleticism in dance. It gives dance a new definition….Dance doesn’t always have to graceful and pretty.
I agree that the repetition in the first piece never became boring. It seemed like every time a new couple came out of the stage right wings shuffling sideways I was surprised! Even the twentieth time it happened I was still excited to see more.