STAGE TUBE: Sneak Peek at GRUPO CORPO, Making Houston Premiere, 3/14

Brazil's leading contemporary dance troupe, Grupo Corpo, will make its Houston debut with two performances, Thursday, March 14, and Friday, March 15, at 8 p.m. in the Wortham Center's Cullen Theater, presented by Society for the Performing Arts. BroadwayWorld has a first look below.

The dream child of the Pederneiras family - brothers Paulo, Pedro, Rodrigo, José Luis and sister Miriam - Brazil's Grupo Corpo ("Body Group") was founded in 1975 in the city of Belo Horizonte. Grupo Corpo creates a vibrant and seamless blend of ballet's poise and modern dance's spirit. While in Houston, the Company will perform two works, ímã and Sem Mim, showcasing the dancers virtuosity, as well as choreographer Rodrigo Pederniras' fusion of ballet, modern, ballroom and Afro-Brazilian dance idioms.

The principles of interdependence and complementarity that govern human relationships serve as Rodrigo Pederneiras' creative point of departure for ímã (which means magnet in Portuguese). Set to a jazzy score by the Brazilian trio +2, the piece opens with dancers shuffling horizontally across the stage and is punctuated by constant alternation between a full and empty stage. Solos, duos and smaller and larger groups form and dissipate throughout the performance as in an incessant game of union and dispersion.

Tickets range from $35-$65 and can be purchased online at www.spahouston.org, by phone at 713-227-4772 or at the courtyard level ticket office at Jones Hall located at 615 Louisiana St. Hours of operation: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday. For groups of 15 or more call 713-632-8113.