BRATTLEBORO — On Saturday, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m., local dance school SoBo Studio will host its first SoBo Studio Social Distance Show at Living Memorial Park's Rotary Theater.
“All the feelings of the quarantine will be wrapped into one demented bundle of joy, pain, confusion, and ecstatic despair,” organizers said in a news release. “The show will be packed with dance, comedy sketches, improv theater, storytelling, social commentary, political pontificating, and a post-apocalyptic fashion show.”
The show is free, although donations are welcome.
Social distancing protocol will be observed, and people will be seated in designated picnic areas together with the group they came with.
“Bring masks to wear while walking from your car and around the grounds,” urge the organizers, who add that the organization “is passionate about presenting dance and theater in a safe way to the public to keep the crucial art form of live performance thriving.”
SoBo Studio Co-director Toni Nagy believes this show is important for our collective psyches because “we have all gone through this massive transformation during the quarantine, one that I am sure will affect us for the years to come. Art is the medium that we at SoBo believe is therapeutic for collective trauma.”
Co-director Cyndal Ellis agrees. “When we let the fire of art and joy go out in society, what do we have left?” she asks. “I have danced most of my life - it has been a refuge for me emotionally and spiritually - and I truly think the medium of art is how we best communicate with each other.”
“There is so much we are fighting against, but what are we working towards?,” she continues. “It is through artistic expression that we can move each other's hearts. Our goal with this show, and with our lives at SoBo Studio, is to create an energy that heals.”
The rain date for this outdoor show is Sept. 27.
For more information about SoBo Studio, visit sobodance.com.