| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Bach, photo by Jose Luiz Pederneiras |
Q: What inspired you to pair Bach and Gira?
A: Bach is a piece from 1996, and the main idea was a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach. Starting from there, we wanted something superior, elevated, that transmits the greatness of the German composer. Gira, a view of Afro-Brazilian religions, has a spiritual characteristic. From this angle, we have the elevation of spirituality throughout both pieces, and it seemed interesting to present them together.
Q: What was it like to premiere Bach at the 1996 Lyons Dance Biennial?
A: That was our first premiere abroad and the reception was more than we expected. This premiere was in a festival which has global importance, and it was both a great honor and an immense pleasure to have this experience.
Q: For Bach, how did you decide upon Marco Antônio Guimarães for the score?
A: At the time we already had two partnerships with Marco Antônio Guimarães, so we knew very well his accomplishment and talent as a composer, besides our friendship. He was a cellist with Minas Gerais Orchestra for many years, and as we are, he is a great lover of Johann Sebastian Bach’s work.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Gira, photo by Jose Luiz Pederneiras. |
Q: And in the same vein, how did you come to work with Metá Metá for Gira? What specifically did they bring to the work?
A: Metá Metá was a different process. Paulo Pederneiras (the artistic director) invited them to compose the original music. They brought an unknown world to us that demanded deep research from all of us. I attended on a daily basis the “terreiros de umbanda,” (temples of Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian religion) and slowly started to learn how the rituals happened, how each entity manifested itself when incorporated in a “cavalo” (the person who lends his body to the entity to be manifested is called a “horse”).
Q: Can you talk a bit about how Umbanda informs the aesthetics and form of Gira?
A: We did huge research on how each entity manifests itself. Each moves in a particular way and has its very own grimaces. Then we incorporate those movements to the contemporary dance that Grupo Corpo has been developing for all these years. Each entity has a lineage well-marked, easy to identify, but still, each one has very specific movements.
A: That started in the late 80s and early 90s. We always heard about Brazilian dance, but what we saw were ideas or Brazilian characters represented by movements that weren’t ours at all—sometimes by the classical technique, sometimes by great international masters such as Martha Graham or José Limon. So, at that time, we started to research the Brazilian traditional dances and popular parties. It’s important to highlight that Brazil is diverse, and when we talk about Brazilian culture, you have to consider the influences from Europe, Africa, our indigenous people, and so forth. So, little by little, we transformed those dances in contemporary movements and assimilated that to our repertoire, which had a classical base.
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