Lenora Lee Dance marks its 15th Anniversary Season with two world premiere works confronting the realities of U.S. immigration policy and the work toward reform, In Visibility and Convergent Waves: EP. Both works use dance, narrative storytelling, video and archival images to impart the lived experiences of migrants and justice workers as they fight to change the policies that both historically and currently criminalize immigrants, separate families and contribute to generational trauma.

In Visibility is an immersive piece inspired by the organizing to stop the prison to ICE detention pipeline in California. The 15-minute work opens the evening, making use of Dance Mission’s common spaces: the lobby, hallways, studio and stairway, focusing on the separation of families and mass detention of immigrants as forms of incarceration. It serves as a meditation on reconciliation and restorative justice, speaking to the power of individuals and communities to transcend.

Convergent Waves: EP (45 minutes) highlights experiences of Chinese and Latin American migration in El Paso,TX and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico over the decades and as Title 42 came to an end in May 2023. The piece is narrated through the voices of those living in these cities for generations, as well as those working on the ground providing resources and support for the individuals and families crossing the border.

Content Advisory: The audio score for this performance contains individuals sharing about experiences of trauma, incarceration, and ICE detention. Parts of these stories may be triggering for some audience members.