Psychotherapist Kelly Bearer has spent years helping people build connection and healing. Now she is bringing that philosophy to the dance floor through Plymouth Tea Dance, a new event rooted in her hope to give the local LGBTQ community space in the daylight.
“The biggest obstacle we all face in meeting like-minded people is getting people off the phone, off the couch and onto the dance floor,” Bearer said. “I want people to get out into the world and share some joy.”
Bearer is behind a series of quarterly gatherings launching this month. “As we close out Pride month and Plymouth’s Pride day, I’m offering dance, connection and healing in the daylight.”
The event takes place 4 to 7 p.m., Sunday, June 28 at 36 Cordage Park, embracing a Provincetown tradition since the 1970s.
Tea dances have historically offered LGBTQ people a public space to gather openly in community. Held in the late afternoon, they carry an important symbolism: community not hidden away but gathering in day light.
As a psychotherapist, Bearer sees the event as more than a party. Community, she said, is healthiest when people can gather openly and authentically. But dancing is a key driver of the experience.
“Dancing has been proven to be good for mental health and healing,” she said. “People need to move their bodies.
Bearer cited a 2003 study in the New England Journal of Medicine that followed people for 21 years. Its findings suggest that dancing can reduce dementia risk by 76% — more than any other activity studied. There’s also an Oxford study from 2014–2015 (Tarr & Dunbar) on group dance plus music creating a release of endorphins and oxytocin, she said.
“As a therapist, there is nothing better for the human psyche than connection through dance,” Bearer added. “So, I’m not just throwing a party. I’m running a preventive medicine clinic with a sound system.”
Bearer, who performs as DJ Sosan, moved to Plymouth in 2025 after spending 25 years in Boulder, CO. A native of Massachusetts who grew up in Millis, she relocated to be closer to family and quickly fell in love with Plymouth’s ocean, pace of life and sense of community.
She also noticed something missing.
“Plymouth is an accepting community,” Bearer said. “And LGBTQ people are here. What we need is a space to gather. For many LGBTQ+ residents on the South Shore, gathering with community often means a long drive. For many people, it’s an hour to Boston or 90 minutes to Provincetown. I want people to be able to drive 15 minutes, park, walk in, and find their people.”
Bearer has been DJing LGBTQ dance floors since 2005. From 2016 to 2019, she DJed First Fridays at Tracks Denver, one of the city’s best-known LGBTQ+ venues.
In addition to her work as a DJ and producer, Bearer is a licensed psychotherapist and founder of the Boulder Hypnotherapy Institute. Through Sosan Productions LLC, she now produces Plymouth Tea Dance and a series of future dance events.
Attendees can expect an eclectic mix of disco, house, deep house and pop music, along with what Bearer calls “all of our favorites.” Midway through the three-hour event, aerial performer Chaday will perform to Sade’s “No Ordinary Love.” The event will feature a cash bar and a lounge area for conversation.
“When people walk into the room, I want them to feel like they are home,” Bearer said. “I want them to feel they have found their people. I want them to feel known and seen and loved just by walking into that room.”
The June event is the first chapter of The Queer Pop-Up Series, a rotating concept that will move among Plymouth venues four to six times each year. A second Tea Dance is already planned for September, while a monthly companion event, First Fridays Dance Plymouth, is slated to launch in December.
“Different venue every time. Same room. That’s the promise,” Bearer said. The concept, she said, is less about a permanent physical location than creating a consistent sense of community wherever the event takes place.
Looking ahead, Bearer hopes Plymouth Tea Dance grows into a lasting tradition on the South Shore. “I’m not just visiting — I’m building,” she said.
But success for the first event is simpler than attendance numbers or ticket sales. “I hope people leave feeling like they made a new friend,” Bearer said. “And that they found their community.”
The second Tea Dance is scheduled for September, with the date and venue to be announced Aug. 1. There’s already excitement around the Founder’s Pass and future events, Bearer said, and she feels the momentum already building.
For more information go here.
Julia Marie Davis can be reached at julia@plymouthindependent.org.