Company dancer Roma Catania recreates Dorothea Lange’s iconic photo, “Woman of the High Plains, Texas Panhandle”
Photo Credit: Dorothea Lange, Isaac Alongi; edited by Matt Richardson
When Störling Dance Theater’s Artistic Director Mona Störling-Enna had the idea to create a show set in the United States during the 1930s, her husband and Störling Dance Theater Executive Director, Jeremiah Enna, wondered how he would sell tickets to a show about the Great Depression.
“It’s not going to be depressing!” Mona protested.
She was right.
As she has for the past 30 years, Mona manages to weave together a story that graces the stage with the beauty of dance and leaves the audience impacted by the power of story.
What many may assume to be … well, depressing … turns out to be an inspirational story filled with fun, humor, beauty, truth and hope.
“Dorothea’s Lens” masterfully incorporates history, photography, dance, period costumes, found sets and props and even an original song, featuring instruments that could be carried on a migrant worker’s long journey, to bring to life the captivating photographs of Dorothea Lange.
During the Great Depression, Lange’s photographs revealed the reality of the squalid conditions in which people were consigned to live due to the economic and environmental disasters the country faced. Her photographs dared a nation to look and stirred its citizens into action to care for their fellow man.
One of Lange’s most famous photos, “Migrant Mother,” was published in the newspaper and resulted in the federal government sending 20,000 pounds of food to the migrant camp.
When she took photos, Lange also captured the stories of the people in them. As “Dorothea’s Lens” continues to come into focus, fun, jazzy steps and graceful, sweeping movements tell their stories of resilience and remind the audience that hope and joy are not contingent on circumstances.
“Dorothea’s Lens” kicks off Störling Dance Theater’s 30th anniversary season. Performances are April 10 at 7 p.m. and April 11 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at The White Theatre at the J (5801 W. 115th Street, Leawood, KS 66211). Tickets can be purchased at www.storlingdance.org/new-events.
Störling Dance Theater is a neoclassical modern dance company based in the Kansas City metro. It is the professional dance company of The Culture House. The company passionately pursues excellence in portraying authenticity and the depth of humanity through the beauty of dance and the power of story.
