Thursday, April 09, 2026
70 years ago, Anna Sokolow predicted our epidemic of loneliness
forward.com: When the dance begins, they are all onstage together. But they are each very much alone. In the opening vignette of Anna Sokolow’s “Rooms,” there are eight chairs scattered across the stage and eight performers who inhabit them — like city apartments squished so close together yet keeping their occupants apart.
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3 comments:
I find it so intriguing that Sokolow was able to write such an isolationist piece when she herself seemed to really understand how to not be isolated. Maybe she reportedly spoke to so many people because she knew how dangerous a loneliness epidemic was. I’ve always loved scenes where you can see all or many of the characters, but they act separately. The description of “Rooms” reminded me a lot of a scene in season one of The Umbrella Academy, where all of the characters are shown dancing in their rooms in a section view of their father’s house. It’s such an effective way to show collective loneliness. A covid staging of Rooms definitely evoked a particular emotion for almost every person alive today. I also find it interesting how minimal the set is–it shows how there isn’t even much separating the character physically, only their emotions and thoughts, which is true in day to day life.
The description of this piece certainly sounds like something that is incredibly relevant today. The world we live in now is simultaneously the most interconnected it's ever been, and incredibly isolating. With the internet and social media, it's so easy to see other people, without actually connecting with them, and it's definitely gotten worse since the pandemic. But I think there's a reason this was also portrayed in a piece choreographed 70 years ago. Times change, but a lot of themes and human issues stay constant. Humans have been experiencing loneliness and isolation for ages, long before cell phones were created. This piece sounds like it could be very powerful and moving. It's jarring to be struck by the collective loneliness in our age. People sit behind screens and watch other people's lives instead of actually interacting with one another. But in a way, it's good to know that this isn't just a problem with our generation.
Ok, first of all, I think the person who wrote this article could make a living entirely on describing dance. When she described the opening vignette of ‘Rooms’ I thought “oh wow, I can picture that so well”, then I decided that I was interested in what it actually looked like, just to find that I was able to picture almost exactly what was displayed on stage. I probably just appreciate this as a stage manager who sometimes struggles while taking blocking notes.
This article spoke about how this dance piece predicted the state of the world and how it was adapted during covid isolation. What I found funny, was that people seem to be surprised about art having sustainable meaning, after describing the state of the world when the original piece was written – it’s scarily similar to the state of the world now. I would be interested in learning more about the process of adaptation when it comes to dance. Who facilitates the changes if there are any? If any choreography changes, is it still the same dance? How is this process different from doing theatre where you receive a script, and sometimes certain notes on the design elements?
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