After premiering this past November, the satirical dance theatre event VULGAR returns for one night on Burbank this Saturday, Jan. 31st.
The work of choreographer Stephanie Mizrahi and her team of dancers, the show “invites audiences into the social dancing culture of the 1910s while critiquing the rigid moral and gender norms of the time.”
A mix of performance and participation, VULGAR “blends historical and contemporary movement, spoken text read from Modern Dancing , and theatrical staging” to dig into social and gender norms then and now.
We checked in with creator Stephanie Mizrahi about the upcoming one-night revival and the sims of the piece.
This is No Proscenium’s NOW PLAYING, a look at ongoing immersive experiences & events. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.
NoPro is 100% reader & listener supported. Become a subscriber to secure & expand our coverage of Everything Immersive!
NO PROSCENIUM: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Stephanie Mizrahi: VULGAR is an evening of immersive dance-theater that drops audiences directly into the social dancing world of the 1910s — bloomers, pearls, propriety, and all. The piece satirically explores how dance, etiquette, and morality were used to police bodies, gender, and desire, then asks what of that still lingers today. Using a blend of historical movement styles, contemporary choreography, spoken text, and theatrical staging, the performers invite audiences into a world that feels playful, absurd, and slightly unhinged beneath its prim exterior.
What makes VULGAR immersive is that the audience isn’t just watching a show — they’re inhabiting a social environment. Performers speak directly to guests, move through the space, and at times invite audiences onto their feet. There’s music, shared laughter, eye contact, and moments where the boundary between performer and spectator dissolves. It’s meant to feel like you’ve wandered into a slightly scandalous 1910s dance hall where the rules are constantly being enforced — and gleefully broken.
NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?
SM: The original inspiration for VULGAR came from discovering an original 1914 copy of Modern Dancing by Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Castle. While the book served as an instructional manual for popular social dances like the One-Step and the Fox-Trot, it also functioned as a moral guide, warning readers against vulgarity and emphasizing decorum, restraint, and “proper” gender behavior. Reading it now, its patronizing tone is both hilarious and unsettling — revealing how tightly dance, morality, and social control were intertwined.
The Castles themselves became central figures in the work. As ballroom dancers and tastemakers, Vernon and Irene Castle helped popularize modern dancing while working to remove the stigma associated with bodily closeness. Their influence extended beyond dance into fashion, music, and social norms, aided in large part by their collaboration with composer and bandleader James Reese Europe. Europe’s music — rooted in African-American traditions — became synonymous with modern dance, even as its cultural origins were often sanitized for mainstream audiences. VULGAR grew out of holding all of these contradictions at once: refinement and restriction, liberation and appropriation, joy and control.
As the research for VULGAR progressed, it became clear that the present lacks the proverbial “third space,” which was a primary source of community only a century ago/in the ragtime era. The piece quickly became a project to provide a place for people to come experience laughter, movement, and conversation.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?
SM: Fans of immersive theater often gravitate toward experiences that make history feel lived-in rather than observed, and VULGAR offers exactly that. Instead of presenting the 1910s as a static period piece, the audience is invited into its social structures — the etiquette, the music, the expectations — and allowed to experience how those forces shape behavior in real time. The spoken excerpts from Modern Dancing, delivered live by performers, heighten this effect by letting the era’s voice speak for itself.
Immersive audiences may also find the social aspect particularly compelling. Like the Castle House dance school or the Castles’ nightclubs, VULGAR thrives on communal energy. There are moments of shared laughter, moments of participation, and moments when the audience becomes part of the choreography. The experience is lighthearted but layered — offering humor on the surface while inviting deeper reflection for those who want to look closer.
NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?
SM: An unexpected surprise was the overwhelming eagerness of audiences to physically participate. When invited to dance, nearly the entire audience jumped in without hesitation, echoing the communal spirit of early social dance culture. That response reinforced how hungry people are for shared, embodied experiences — especially ones that feel joyful, inclusive, and low-pressure. It ultimately shaped VULGAR into a more interactive and socially alive piece than originally envisioned.
NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?
SM: To get into the VULGAR mindset, immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the pre-war era. Listen to ragtime, early jazz, and recordings associated with James Reese Europe — music that carried both exuberance and cultural significance. Watch silent films, vaudeville clips, or early Broadway dance numbers, paying attention to posture, gesture, and theatricality. Reading old etiquette manuals or dance guides can also be surprisingly revealing — and funny.
If you’re feeling playful, period-inspired attire is welcome: pearls, suspenders, lace, bloomers, high collars, or anything that evokes turn-of-the-century propriety. Most importantly, come ready to engage. VULGAR works best when audiences allow themselves to step into the world fully — to laugh, to move, and to momentarily inhabit a time when dancing was both a radical act and a carefully regulated one.
Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, home of NoPro’s show listings.
NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our backers. Join them today and get access to our Newsletter and Discord!
In addition to the No Proscenium website and our podcast, and you can find NoPro on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and in the Facebook community also named Everything Immersive.
Discussion