This picture was taken when I was six years old. Alas, I lost or mislaid the original, so this is a scan of a copy — not very high quality.
“Little Jenny with the Dar Gorani look” was named by a circle dancer who saw this photograph. Dar Gorani is a dance choreographed to Armenian music, using traditional Armenian gestures. We also call it the “prayer to the lost homeland” because it’s about being driven out of your home, and looking back to its beauty, and forward to the hope that you will be able to create a new home. In this picture I see a child who knows that somewhere out there is a better way to live, but where she is right now there is just the pain of not really being seen and supported by her alcoholic parents.