Zugzwang is a German term related to the game of chess. It describes the moment when the player is forced to make a move, despite knowing it could lose them the whole game. So, what’s the next move? As on a chess board, the bodies of two dancers flow from one position to another, each time changing the relationship between them and the space. In a choreographed score that appears to be based on a common foundation of movements, between detours and dead ends, flight and standstill, both try to escape the stalemate situation of the game by bending the rules and testing the boundaries of freedom within a structured order.

Despite their different career paths, Elisabetta and Gennaro Lauro share a passion for movement and dance. Elisabetta Lauro is a choreographer and dancer, working as a guest performer in Le Sacre du Printemps by Pina Bausch, among other productions. She also spent several years as a dancer and assistant for the Taiwanese choreographer Kuo-Chu Wu. The piece ZugZwang was developed together with her brother. After studying philosophy and Middle Eastern languages, Gennaro Andrea Lauro dedicated himself wholly to dance and theatre. He has been working as a performer for companies such as Sosta Palmizi, Romeo Castellucci and Circo El Grito since 2013.