[Lonnie]

Can someone compare the arts scene between Brattleboro and Bennington? My husband and I - along with a percussionist and dancers - have the only flamenco troupe in upstate New York, but we want to move to Vermont. If he and I can't continue with flamenco, we'd do jazz, old standards etc. - as a hobby, mind you. We know musicians don't make a living. :-)

[cloven]

Originally Posted by Lonnie

Can someone compare the arts scene between Brattleboro and Bennington? My husband and I - along with a percussionist and dancers - have the only flamenco troupe in upstate New York, but we want to move to Vermont. If he and I can't continue with flamenco, we'd do jazz, old standards etc. - as a hobby, mind you. We know musicians don't make a living. :-)

Don't know how to compare them, as resident of Brattleboro (w/little firsthand experience of Bennington).

Perhaps one could say that both towns are equally arts-oriented, then one might decide on one or the other based on geographic convenience (Bennington being next to NY, Brattleboro being next to NH)-or economic factors, though I imagine everywhere is having tough time of it, esp. for folks doing art...

Did search for Brattleboro and arts, dunno' how informative/relevant these links are, but these mention places & events where display & performance happen (someone who knows Bennington will have to speak up for it as a destination)-
The Cotton Mill | Brattleboro, VT
Arts + Music | BRATTLEBOROLOGY
GALLERY WALK, Brattleboro, Vermont - A Monthly First-Friday Celebration!

[Lonnie]

Thanks for your insights! I don't know what it is about Brattleboro, but every time we go there I feel like I've returned home and every time we leave, I'm already thinking about how soon we can get back. We've made contact with Nina Kunimoto, the flamenco dancer of Brattleboro, and I just learned via her Facebook posting of an event that, sadly, we can't get to:
Fall Dance Showcase: Amalgamations
Luminz Studio dance and performing arts center
74 Cotton Mill Hill #346 (3rd floor) , Brattleboro, VT, 05301
Saturday, November 3
8PM $15
Reserve tickets at info@luminzstudio.com or (802) 258-7378

I hope someone does video at least of Nina!

Lonnie

[Sadhere]

Originally Posted by db77

Forget Vermont. If I were you I'd look into Central to Western MA. It would suit your political leanings and there'd be much more opportunity for teaching jobs.

Everyone who's never been to Vermont but has only learned about it through movies, books and pictures thinks it's some kind of shangri-la. Then they get there and if they spend more than a few days realize just how much the place sucks. I'm from NH and have reluctantly made the trip up I89 a handful of times over the past ten years or so and I've come to the conclusion that the people that live there fall into several categories 1. They work on a diary farm or ski resort 2. They live there but desperately would rather live somewhere else but do not have the financial means or will to escape 3. They are very artsy but do not play very well with others and Vermont offers the kind of culture that they feel at home in

All the pretty postcards with barns and covered bridges on them do not represent what Vermont truly is. No jobs, no decent affordable housing, ridiculous green laws and an insane anti-business mentality, an obsession with creating an absurd Norman Rockwell painting come to life atmosphere at the expense of anything and everything practical that makes sense, no coastline, no really nice lakes, Green Mountains aren't half as nice as White Mountains, no decent restaurants, no world class hospitals or medical centers, ......I could go on and on but I'm sure I'll just have a bunch of angry Vermonters telling me how off the mark I am. To each his own.

I've taken a lot of criticism on this site for expressing MY OPINION of the state but it is what it is. I just can't say enough bad things about this god forsaken place called Vermont.

Seriously, there are a lot of nice little towns in MA between Worcester and the Berkshires that you'd probably be much happier in.

You couldn't have said it better. I moved here somewhat recently and that's how I feel now. Feels so oppressive here (I'm in putney).