Group Acorde
Artists
ROBERTA PAIXÃO CORTES
Roberta was born and raised in Brazil and received her classical ballet training at Ballet Vera Bublitz, in Porto Alegre, RS. There, she danced in numerous classical repertoire ballets and participated in various festivals and competitions. While in the US, she has had the opportunity to work with a number of independent choreographers including jhon r. stronks, Lisa Gonsales, Sthephan Koplowitz, Susan Blair being a part of “Art Saves Lives” and touring to Nice(France) in 2014, Erin Reck, and Jennifer Mabus. Roberta has also worked with Vault, Psophonia, Earthen Vessels Dance, Hope Stone Dance, The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble (performing in Houston and New York), and Chapman Dance. She has an Associate’s Degree in Arts from Houston Community College, where she received the Heinen Scholarship for the Performing Arts in 2005. In 2015 Roberta became an ambassador for Africa Yoga Project, where she spent two weeks in Kenya, among other things, teaching contemporary dance. She graduated from the first Houston class of Artist INC in 2017 and her choreography has been featured at Big Range Dance Festival, Barnstorm Dance Fest, Choreographers X 6, East Meets West, Contemporary World Festival, Artists for Hope and Rice Dance Theater. Roberta is a E-RYT500 yoga teacher, a ballet teacher and serves as co-director, choreographer and dancer for Group Acorde.
LINDSEY MCGILL
Lindsey McGill was born in Houston, Texas. She began her formal dance training under Elizabeth and Rosemary Molak in Orange County, California and continued training at the Houston Ballet Academy under the direction of Ben Stevenson, Clara Cravey, and Priscilla Nathan Murphy. Since graduating from the Houston Ballet Academy, Lindsey has worked with companies in Houston, New York, and Portland including Northwest Dance Project, Hope Stone Dance, Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble, iMEE, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, NobleMotion Dance, The Next Stage Project, KDNY, and O Dance. She has also had the opportunity to dance in projects by jhon r. stronks, Teresa Chapman, Vault, 6 Degrees, Freneticore, and iLluminate, among others. Lindsey was voted Reader’s Choice Best Dancer in 2006 for the Houston Press’ annual “Best...of Houston” series, and artistic directors and dancers awarded her the 2007 Buffy Award for Best Performing Artist in Houston 2005-2007. Lindsey has been choreographing since 2004 and has made works for Revolve Dance Company, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, iMEE, Northwest Dance Project, O Dance, Freneticore, 12 Minutes Max, Frenetic Fringe Festival, and the Big Range Dance Festival. She serves as co-director, choreographer, and dancer for Group Acorde.
Photography by Yankar Gonzalez
Photography by Lynn Lane
THOMAS HELTON
Thomas Helton is a composer and bassist who writes and performs music in both solo and ensemble settings. As a composer, Mr. Helton was awarded a Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Fellowship Grant in 2007, was awarded an artist residency from DiverseWorks ArtSpace in collaboration with video artist Maria del Carmen Montoya, released a solo DVD collaboration with videographer Jonathan Jindra, and has been commissioned to compose 5 works for the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble. As a bassist, Thomas Helton performs with his own ensemble, The Core Trio, as well as with many celebrated jazz and free improv artists including Tim Hagans, Milt Jackson, Daniel Carter, Monty Alexander, Frank Gratowski and Ernie Watts, William Parker, Weasel Walter, and Steve Swell. He has also performed for NORCAL Noisefest, USC Bakersfield, UNT, as a guest artist with Sweden’s Norrbotten Big Band, and was featured at the 2009 ISB Bass Convention curated by Mark Dresser. In the spring of 2010, he spent three months at the TAKT Artist residency in Berlin, Germany where he performed with local musicians, Simon Rose, Matthias Mueller, Klaus Kuervers, Chris Heenan and bassist Clayton Thomas. Thomas has released three CD’s: Doublebass; Experimentations in Minimalism; and Saga. In 2013, The Core Trio released a recording of live improvisation with New York piano great, Robert Boston. Mr. Helton heads The Houston Composers Salon, an organization that presents original work by modern composers. He serves as composer and musician for Group Acorde.
Photography by Lynn Lane
André Amaral
André Amaral is a visual artist and graphic designer. He supports Group Acorde in graphic design, web design, and photography.
SETH PAYNTER
Seth Paynter was born in Austin, Texas in 1972. Paynter is predominantly a saxophonist/composer but also has excursions as a performer, composer, director, and choreographer in dance and video. He acquired a degree in Performance from the University of Houston in 1995. Paynter has lectured in South Korea about improvisation. He has recorded 9 albums of original material of various genres, is a member of the free improvisational group The Core Trio, and participates with the Houston Composers Salon. Seth is a founding member of Group Acorde.