A community of dance and music – this is often claimed and only half-heartedly realized. Most of the time, both genres stand more next to each other than they appear to be equal. The dance concert “Duo con piano – dance piece for two pianists” by Gianfranco Celestino and Annalisa Derossi is a refreshing exception. Rarely have we seen dancers who play the piano so well and pianists who dance so well.

A man and a woman engage in an expressive dialogue, dancing in front of, beside, and on the grand piano, and playing the piano while they dance. In an abstract way, they narrate a close artistic and human togetherness – harmony as a place of longing seems to become reality here for moments.

Gianfranco Celestino, born in Turin in 1971, studied piano at the Conservatorio statale di Musica Giuseppe Verdi in his hometown. He studied dance at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen as well as in Venice and Vienna. From 2000-2002 he danced with Alain Platel’s Compagnie les ballets C de la B in Ghent, among others. Since 2002 he has been working on his own choreographies in Luxembourg. Annalisa Derossi, born 1967 also in Turin, studied piano and dance in Turin and Paris and lives in Germany since 1991. Guest engagements at theaters, e.g. at the Volksbühne Berlin and the Burgtheater Vienna, alternate with free productions and concert performances. Both artists have been realizing joint projects since 2013.