(G)ROUND ZERO
Duration 45 min.
Premiered 2016
“Rising up, back on the street/Did my time, took my chances/Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet/Just a man and his will to survive”
Does it sound familiar? These are the opening lines from the Survivor song “Eye of the Tiger” and they inspire and motivate us. “Rocky”, “Terminator”, “Baywatch”, “Mortal Kombat”, Bruce Lee or Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson or Jimmy Hendrix, “Backstreet Boys” or “All4one”, and many more movies, singers, bands, artists have the same effect on us. – state the members of NUEPIKO, Marius Pinigis and Marius Paplauskas.
“(g)round zero” is not only a fusion of two differently trained dancers. It is a tribute to dancer’s childhood and their heroes from that time, to freedom and bravery, to fantasy and being present all the time.
Team
Marius Pinigis
Marius Paplauskas
Marius Pinigis
Andrius Stakelė
Andrius Stakelė
Vladimiras Šerstabojevas
Awards
2016
Nominated for the Golden Stage Cross award in the categories of Best Dance Piece of the Year and Best Dancer of the Year (Marius Pinigis)
2016
Awarded with Kaunas professional theatre award “Fortūnos”
2016
Marius Pinigis awarded by Kaunas city and Kaunas Artist House as The Artist of the Year
2017
Marius Pinigis awarded by Lithuanian contemporary dance association as The Dancer of the Year
Reviews
“I start to work out on Monday.”
— someone in the audience, 2016
“Dance standards and ways to break it, adult bodies and children hiding inside of them, tension and liberation, a motivational bomb on the stage. Representatives of two different dance styles <...> brought contemporary and street dances on one stage, thus creating a memorable story about each of us.”
— Karolita Dainytė, “Kūnas Mag”, 2017
“While so many Lithuanians devote their time and energy to complaints and criticism, instead of looking for solutions to problems, it is especially pleasant to look at the people indulging into activities they truly enjoy.”
— Aušra Kaminskaitė, "Menų faktūra“, 2016
“Crazily bold tricks, especially if they are successful, can be very satisfying to watch. <...> Performers of the “(g)round zero” manipulate their bodies in many different ways, exploring the notions of the fight and the partnership on the stage, while giving us many visual hints. <...> Hard work can lead to gratifying results or create a new myth, a promising beginning or an inspiring work.”
— Kristina Steiblytė, dance.lt, 2016
“It is one of those performances after which you can’t stop smiling and during which you don’t think about how to best get to the lobby to be the first in line for coats after all this is over. It’s like a good film, the storyline of which you don’t want to tell a friend just to watch his face change as he sees it for the first time.”
— Indrė Vėlyvytė, dance.lt, 2017