In 2012 while en route to Israel to dance with a renowned company, Cuban-born and Julliard trained, Lazaro Godoy, was detained in the airport. Once allowed to fly, a series of harrowing events ensued, and Godoy never made it to his destination. Rather, he found himself in Brookdale Mental Hospital for six days, unable to make contact with the outside world.

While there, he was held in a small room with nothing more than a mattress. His family and friends had no idea what had happened to him. He was eventually allowed to contact his mother and sister who came to New York, but were not able to see him.

In the end, he was released out of the back door of the institution, no paperwork, no record of the incident.

Brookdale is Godoy’s original dance piece about those six days.

Brookdale was produced by Godoy/Pradera productions through a grant from the Miami Theater Center’s Sandbox Series.