Group Acorde Premieres ‘Beat’

Media Contact: 
Roberta Paixao Cortes                                                                              
(281)8273091
groupacorde@gmail.com
www.groupacorde.org 

Houston’s collaborative dance and live music performance company Group Acorde, premieres  Beat at MATCHbox 2 on October 3rd, 2024

Houston, TX, August 15, 2024 – Group Acorde presents “Beat“: an evening of premiere works of contemporary dance and live music performances highlighting the work of composers Thomas Helton and Natasha Manley and choreographers Roberta Paixao Cortes and Lindsey McGill. This full evening production will feature two works; “Batimento Cardiaco” and “Vessel”(excerpt). Both works demonstrate Group Acorde’s ability to create art collaborations that display the company’s diverse artistry and artists.

“Batimento Cardiaco” is a new work by composer Thomas Helton in collaboration with contemporary choreography and visual art by Brazilian visual artist Andre Amaral. This work is a conversation between a soundscore for different instruments that will include improvisation, pulsating sounds and out of sync rhythms, contemporary dance choreography, and a set design made out of recycled materials. The work will feature three more musicians from local ensemble Relative Dissonance in a never-before-seen collaboration between Group Acorde and a local musical ensemble. “ Batimento Cardiaco” is Portuguese for “heartbeat”. Studies have shown that experiences with natural disasters can affect one’s mental health and have an impact on one’s sleep and overall mood. Physically, traumatic experiences such as preparing for a hurricane to hit one’s city, going through it, and the aftermath of it can cause heart palpitations to temporary or permanent heart damage. All experiences that Houstonians tend to be very familiar with. On the contrary, music and dance have been proven to normalize one’s heart rate as sound processing begins in the brainstem, which also controls the rate of one’s heartbeat and respiration. Movement increases cardiovascular endurance elevating awareness to an individual’s breathing. “Vessel”(excerpt) is the first time Natasha Manley collaborates with the company. Natasha is a soprano and this new work displays her vocal abilities as a classically trained musician that is exploring different sounds and their relationship to movement and dance. Beat offers a unique channel of information and awareness to traumatic experiences and its effects on one’s mental health with the heartbeat as the center and inspiration for both works.

Beat features performances by Roberta Paixao Cortes, Lindsey McGill, Thomas Helton, Natasha Manley, and Relative Dissonance. Set and digital design by Andre Amaral and lighting design by Tiffany Schrepferman. Beat. MATCHBOX 2 (3400 Main Street, Houston/TX 77002 | 713-521-4533) October 3rd,  and 4th, 2024. 8pm. General admission: $32; student/industry: $22. Ticket information: www.matchouston.org

Group Acorde has produced many notable art collaborations through the years including Origins in 2019 which received the Houston Chronicle recognition “10 Exciting Houston dance performances of 2019” as “best contemporary collaboration;” and Representation of Form in 2020, a multimedia event that was on the Houston Chronicle’s “Must List” to watch. This past January, Group Acorde was one of the three awarded artists that presented work at the Cullen Theater commissioned by Performing Arts Houston.

This is Group Acorde’s fifth full evening production featuring all new collaborative works. Beat is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance,  Dance Source Houston’s Groundwork Grant program and California Community Foundation/Jane Greenberg. Group Acorde is sponsored in part by Houston Met Dance through their Dance Floor Space Grant.

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. www.groupacorde.org

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