The Pederneiras clan — brothers Rodrigo, Paulo, Pedro, and José Luiz and sister Miriam, founders of the Brazilian dance company Grupo Corpo — is an exuberant contradiction to Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” thesis: They are surely a happy family unlike any other.

Led by Paulo, the talented siblings established their troupe in 1975 for the most basic of reasons: They wanted to offer professional contemporary dance in their hometown of Belo Horizonte, located in southeastern Brazil. At the time — in stark contrast to the lively contemporary scene there today — the right situation didn’t exist, so they created one. The name they chose celebrates not only their familial bond, but also the collaboration of many: Grupo Corpo, “group body.”