The Smile Club (Exerpts)

The choreography and storyline for The Smile Club are inspired by alleged psychiatric practices performed in Budapest, Hungary during the Great Depression. In the wake of the First World War, the city earned a reputation as “The City of Suicides.” A school opened up with a simple goal: to teach the population how to smile. The idea was that this would trigger more serotonin production, and would cure an impoverished city, collectively traumatized by war, of the widespread urge to end their lives. This show empowers audience members with inspiration and the realization that everyone has the ability to directly affect their own well-being as well as those around them.