Loco7 (NY) Recommended for ages 12+ Length of Show: 55 minutes, no intermissionLunch with Sonia is a dance puppet theatre piece, inspired by Restrepo’s true-life experience with his Aunt Sonia, who decided to end her life with dignity after a long illness at the age of 72. The show uses puppets, live actors, music, video and physical theatre to deal with the themes of life, love, and loss. Conversations about assisted dying bring up controversial and emotionally fraught issues: morality, religion, politics, and faith. With this piece, Loco7 hopes to acknowledge the incredible intimacy and the very personal nature of dying as the final event of living a self-actualized, individual human life and to move the dialogue from the philosophical arena to the realm of personal experience and stories related to the topic of Death with Dignity.<iframe-embed src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/911913019?h=ee9f10fe1b" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share" allowfullscreen="" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" height="480" width="640" metaposition="flex-start" metatype="vimeo" style=""></iframe-embed> Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company, founded by Colombian born artist, Federico Restrepo in 1985, develops and promotes creative productions of Dance, Theatre, Puppets, Visual Arts, and other forms of artistic expression. The company explores the junction of&nbsp;race, culture, history, and media in New York and throughout the global community. Loco7’s cultural policies emphasize pluralism, dialogue, and cultural transformation. Loco7’s artistic mission has been to develop the use of puppetry as an Instrument for the dancer, a style that incorporates dance and design. Utilizing original music, musicians, dancers, body puppets, and larger than life marionettes, the objective is to merge these various elements and weave a choreography which extends beyond the body of the dancer. The undertaking of the ensemble is to deal with themes such as South and Central American Culture and History, the Immigrants’ experience, and New York City Urban Life. Currently our annual programming consists of workshops and performances for children and workshops and performances with seniors in affiliated senior centers, as well as a bi-annual fully realized adult production. Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre is committed to improving our community through artistic and educational programming. Art has the unique power to unite communities and heal unseen wounds. Loco7 has facilitated workshops at Sirovich Center, The United Jewish Council, Grand Street Settlement, Bank Street Head Start, City Lore, PACT, and NYC-area public schools as well as many universities.