Saturday night marked the close of the popular two-day, two-piece, performance stint for Grupo Corpo Brazilian Dance Theater at Stanford’s Memorial Auditorium.

The first piece, entitled Nazareth, opened with the sound of a single piano. One female dancer smoothly glided onto the stage in a black striped leotard with a sheer black skirt and white tights. Her movements were slick and whimsical. She shook her hips with the grace of a modern ballerina.

Nazareth was choreographed by Rodrigo Pederneiras and was composed by Jose Miguel Wisnik. It was a 40-minute dance number that was a mixture of ballet, modern, and hip-hop like dance. The music was mostly flute and piano, which made a beautiful, upbeat, and cheerful sound.

As the piece went on, more and more dancers came out onto the stage. The men wore gray tights and jackets; while the women wore the striped ensemble already mentioned. There were a total of 18 dancers and through out the whole performance of Nazareth they were all on stage together only once. It was an engaging piece with a lot of “in and out stage movement,” meaning that dancers would come on stage to perform short ensembles and then exit the stage as more dancers came on.

The set for Nazareth was rather simple, comprised of 14 gray roses on a tan and brown backdrop. Though the set was quite minimal, the lighting really added to the effect of the show. When the lighting was bright, the dancing was whimsical, happy, and fast paced. When the lighting became dim, the dancing turned more intense and the music was slower.

The dancers’ movements were absolutely amazing. Their flexibility and agility was spectacular. They made the human body look free and light, like nothing was holding them down. It seemed as though gravity did not exist in their world.

The choreography focused mostly on the movement of the hips. Amazingly, throughout the performance of Nazareth, every part of the body seemed to be in motion. The legs, arms, head, neck and hands were all moving in sync with the hips. The signature dance moves of Nazareth were the thrusting hips while the hands and arms moved along with them. Another interesting aspect of the show was the change in pace. For some of the performance, the dance was very staccato, but at other parts during the dance, the dancers flowed with the music. This technique added to the diversity of the movements.

During the piece, the dancers’ movements varied; rarely were several dancers performing identical movement patterns. The dance focused on the use of partners; different pairs did different movements. The music had various beats, which lent to the individual movements and helped the dancers come together as one.

The cast members added their own aspect to the performance. They put so much of themselves into their dancing. It was obvious to the audience that the dancers loved the music and they loved dancing, because through out the entire piece, they were smiling. Through their smiles and happiness, the Grupo Corpo Brazilian Dance Theater let out an aura of pure joy. It seemed as though they were letting loose of everything and getting lost in the feeling and rhythms of the music.

After the 20-minute intermission, audience members returned to their seats as the house lights dimmed to complete blackness. The stage lights came on just enough to reveal the dancers in bright yellow full body leotards dancing swiftly in place. The lights faded again and drumbeats could be heard in the background. Then the dance began.

21, choreographed by Rodrigo Pederneiras and composed by Marco Antonio Guimares, was split up into two parts. The first part was disappointing. While Nazareth focused on movement, the first part of this piece seemed to shift focus onto the set design. The dancers were mainly standing in place; either moving up and down or moving their arms around in circles. The focus was less on movement and more on the color contrast and shadowing, of the set design.

The artistic director, Paulo Pederneiras, and the set designer, Fernando Vellosa, focused mostly on light, color, and shadow in this piece. The costumes were bright yellow and the backdrop changed colors. It went from red, to teal, to black. Shadow also played an important factor. Pederneiras used the shadows of the dancers frequently through out the show. He projected their shadows onto the stage, either behind the dancers or in front of them, while they were dancing. There were also a lot of sudden stops and blackouts that added a little excitement to the otherwise boring piece.

The second part of 21 was more like Nazareth. It was upbeat and happy. The differences in the two parts of the piece showed in every aspect, from choreography, to set design, to music, and to lighting. The backdrop was a bright, quilted pattern with flowers and shapes. The costumes were flowered and brightly colored. The choreography focused a lot on the hips and the dancers seemed to have a sense of attitude and confidence to them. There even seemed to be a bit of hip-hop mixed in with the modern ballet that Nazareth was comprised of. A lot of the choreographed moves were hands on the sides of the hips.

Throughout the performance the music was rather confusing. It was difficult to decipher what instruments were actually being played. At one point there was an instrument that sounded like a cow mooing. At other points the music sounded like different forms of percussion. The two instruments that were clearly present were the flute and the piano.

The catch to 21 was that everything added up to 21. The dancers danced in groups that added up to 21. The music had repetitions of seven beats, three times. The dancers’ arms circled around 21 times. The dancers took 21 steps during the slower part of 21, before ending the dance sequence. Rodrigo Pederneiras was not obvious in incorporating the number 21 into his dance, but it was definitely there.

The Grupo Corpo Brazilian Dance Theater performance was unforgettable. Despite the beginning of 21, the overall performance was amazing. The dancers put on an energetic show and the audience loved it. The feelings of satisfaction and happiness filled the theater and it made everyone want to get up and dance the night away.