In 2013, Elisa Canessa and Federico Dimitri decided to make their artistic journey independent by founding their own theatre research project, giving birth to the Dimitri/Canessa Company.At the same time, both continued working as performers for various dance and theatre companies.

The Dimitri/Canessa Company is widely appreciated for its research-based work and for productions that constantly balance between dance, theatre, and performance art. Their creative language shifts from dramatic tones to blatantly comic and grotesque registers, all supported by a strong and shared sense of aesthetics.Their main interest is not to assign a predefined intellectual meaning to their research, but rather to open up fully to the vast spectrum of human sensations—from the deepest to the most seemingly banal or ridiculous—that can nonetheless reveal the “myth,” whether positive or negative, embedded within every living being.
The company works both in Italy and abroad, particularly in Switzerland, and has produced four shows to date: Bruno (2013), winner of FIT – Festival Internazionale di Teatro di Lugano, and selected by MilanoTeatri as one of the best performances in Milan during the 2017/18 season; ..di Giulietta e del suo Romeo (2014); Hallo! I’m Jacket! Il gioco del nulla (2017), a production that received numerous accolades, including being a finalist at In-Box, the National Award for Contemporary Theatre 2017, and winner of the “L’Italia dei Visionari” call for Kilowatt Festival 2017; Ad esempio questo cielo (2019), produced with the support of Theaterwerkstatt Gleis 5 (CH).

Alongside its production work, the company is also active in education, offering theatre and movement workshops in both Italy and Switzerland. Their teaching collaborations include the Accademia Teatro Dimitri in Verscio, the Atelierschule Liceo Stainer in Zurich, and the Raphaelschule – School of Advanced Pedagogy in Zurich. Since January 2018, the company has also established Wintergarten – Atelier di Teatro Permanente, a space that not only serves as the company’s creative hub, but also offers a variety of professional training and exchange opportunities (Knockout Atelier).