Group Acorde premieres 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.

Paixao Cortes’ Belonging(or not) Abroad showcases her movement with 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 by describing her initial plans to immigrate from Brazil to Houston and highlighting the changes in her behavior, interactions and relationships from the years prior to her departure until now.

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.