Sports Group brings the dynamism of sports into music, turning the stage into a sonic laboratory where movement and sound merge. The idea was born during a basketball game: the asynchronous bouncing of balls, players’ shouts, and the unpredictable rhythm of the game began to resemble a chaotic melody. Inspired by this, the Lithuanian ensemble Operomania created a project exploring the boundary between “music through sports” and “sports through music.” Drawing from experiences in gyms, sports fields, blogs, vlogs, and advertisements, Sports Group reflects on modern humanity’s tension between self-care and self-realization as pure performance, which can become a source of anxiety. On stage, six DIY instruments and gym equipment are transformed into musical tools, creating a performance that blends the rules and imagery of the sports world. In a space filled with trained bodies, pulsing veins, and heavy breaths, Sports Group interweaves energy, rhythm, and creativity, offering an immersive and original interpretation of the relationship between sports and music.
Gaile Griciute is a composer, performer, and sound artist exploring the intersections of sound, vision, and improvisation. Her work ranges from detailed scores (Thangtong Gyalpo) to experimental performances (Eye Gymnastics). She collaborates with collectives like Mold and Weld Mignon, but her primary instrument is the prepared piano. Her artistic focus lies in specific sound exploration, creative process, and the interplay between composition, performance, and listening. With an interdisciplinary approach, her works create intimate experiences, open to multiple interpretations rather than a singular theme. Born in 1985, she studied piano and composition at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, the Sibelius Academy, and Städelschule in Germany. She currently lives and works in Lithuania.
Viktorija Damerell is an artist and curator working mainly with sculpture, sound, and text. In 2017, she graduated with an MA in Contemporary Sculpture from the Vilnius Academy of Art. Her practice explores everyday life and how to turn the mundane into extraordinary experiences. Her work combines cultural references and narrative techniques, focusing on subtle shifts in perception. She currently lives and works in Vilnius, continuing to develop projects that blend visual and sound art to engage the audience and prompt reflection on the nuances of everyday reality.
Gabriele Labanauskaite is a playwright, poet, and assistant professor in theatre studies. Passionate about exploring new textual forms and building creative networks, she founded the audiovisual poetry festival TARP and the collective AVaspo, promoting collaboration between artists. Over the years, she has delved into LGBT+ rights and feminism, alongside social awareness. Her plays, presented in various countries, tackle these themes, as do her audiovisual poetry releases, published as sound trilogies.
Idea: Gabriele Labanauskaite
Directorial concept: Gail? Griciute, Viktorija Damerell
Texts: Gabriele Labanauskaite, Viktorija Damerell
Music: Gaile Grici?te
Action: Greta Stiormer, Viktorija Damerell
Set and costume design: Viktorija Damerell
Concept of instruments: Gaile Griciute, Viktorija Damerell
Design and engineering of instruments: Sholto Dobie
Manufacturing of instruments: Rufcuts Studio
Manufacturing of costumes: Suoma Pilinkut?
Lighting design: Julius Kursys
Sound: Ignas Juzokas
Sports Group: Agne Semenoviciute, Denisas Kolomyckis, Gintar? Smigelskyte, Justina Mykolaityte, J?ra Elena Sedyte, Vaidas Bartusas
Producer: Operomanija
