Special Performance at the new Black Box Theater

A special performance is scheduled for April 1 in the new black box theater at SoCo Movement Arts on Pope’s Island in New Bedford. Doors open at 5 p.m. The performance begins at 6 p.m. A question-and-answer session and a meet-and-greet with the dancers will follow.

The space opened in February with a nearly sold-out performance. Organizers plan additional dance programs and educational events. The venue may be the city’s first black box theater, pending confirmation with historians.

The founder and director grew up in Mattapoisett and built a dance career in New York City before returning to the South Coast. The studio opened in 2020 and later rebranded as SoCo Movement Arts, expanding its programs and adding the theater.

A panel discussion on April 21 will feature Ballet RI Artistic Director Kathleen Breen Combs and moderator Shura Baryshnikov. Organizers say the goal is to expand arts programming on Pope’s Island.