Group Acorde, premieres adaptar: stories of adaptation at historical The Deluxe Theater
Group Acorde presents adaptar: stories of adaptation: an evening of two premiere works of contemporary dance and live music performances highlighting the work of Brazilian born and raised Roberta Paixao Cortes, and guest choreographers Jennifer Mabus and Spencer Gavin Hering.
Roberta’s Belonging(or not) Abroad showcases her movementwith an original musical score inspired by Brazilian music and composed by Seth Paynter and Thomas Helton. The work tells Roberta’s story of immigrating to Houston from Brazil 20 years ago and the many struggles she encountered daily in trying to belong to a different culture, city and country. The piece describes her initial plans to immigrate from Brazil to Houston, and highlights the changes in her behavior, interactions and relationships from the years prior to her departure until now. Andre Amaral, a Brazilian born and raised visual artist, will also contribute visual art and set design for this piece.
The second premiere, Neuroception, brings together two talented guest choreographers, Jennifer Mabus and Spencer Gavin Hering, for a unique collaboration between the four artists of Group Acorde to create a cohesive piece inspired by the polyvagal theory. This theory includes psychological ideas pertaining to the role of the vagus nerve in emotion regulation, social connection and fear response.
The process for this piece has been like nothing the company has ever done before. All choreographers bring their individual voices to how they view the theme as well as their own perspectives of emotional regulation in their own lives and experiences. The collaborative piece results in a complex intermingling of stories that illustrate how our primal human nervous system co-regulates with other nervous systems and unconsciously detects safety and threats. The soundscore will include the shruti box, melodica, ocean drum and electronic sounds in addition to the musicians primary instruments of double bass and saxophone.
This project will be performed at the historical 5th ward The Deluxe Theater and includes neighborhood partnerships with Go! Neighborhood 5th ward and local public schools. The performances of adaptar: stories of adaptation will include choreography by Roberta Paixao Cortes, Spencer Gavin Hering, Jennifer Mabus and Lindsey McGill; compositions by Thomas Helton and Seth Paynter; set design and visual art by Andre Amaral; and lighting design by Edgar Guajardo.
Group Acorde came to life with the desire of Roberta Paixao Cortes, Thomas Helton, Lindsey McGill and Seth Paynter to be a group that truly collaborates in all aspects of the creation process, conceptualizing the works from beginning to end. These four artists have been creating and performing in the Houston arts scene for over 20 years. This is Group Acorde’s fourth full evening production featuring all new collaborative works.
Group Acorde’s mission is to cultivate and educate diverse audiences through live, thought-provoking, original and affordable performance collaborations between contemporary dance and experimental music. The company broadens its reach through community partnerships that aim to include and engage people from all walks of life through education, dialogue and accessibility.
Performances of adaptar: stories of adaptation will be on March 9th, 10th and 11th, 2023, and are approximately 65 min long with no intermission. They are followed by a Q & A session with the artists. General admission: $30; artists: $20; 5th ward residents: $5. For tickets and information visit www.groupacorde.org