One of the pleasures of Phantom Theater is watching iterations of an artist’s work as it forms, transforms, and comes to fruition over multiple seasons. Fans of the dancer, composer and filmmaker, Millie Heckler, have that opportunity when she brings her new work, “Subtle Rage,” to the Edgcomb Barn, Friday and Saturday nights, July 26 and 27.
A Stowe native and familiar face in Vermont’s dance community, last year Heckler received the Vermont Dance Alliance’s first-ever Residency, a program that supports work expressing technical and choreographic excellence, cultural relevance and thought-provoking innovation. Heckler’s product – “Subtle Rage” -- pays off that promise.
The piece draws together strands that Heckler has been weaving over several years. “I’m proud of this work,” Heckler said. “It is a culmination of what I’ve been creating in other contexts. To build one longer story from it is super fulfilling.”
Rooted in personal experience of sexual violence, the piece grapples with the power of rage, an emotion Heckler considers a self-defense mechanism. “Rage is anger that is uncontrolled,” she noted. “It’s also a way we self-sabotage. It can trick you into doing something that is not in your best interest." But, she adds, when examined and channeled, rage can be empowering and lead to healing. “The main question of the whole work is how do we redirect this potent energy? How can we cultivate it so that it becomes mass creation?”
In “Subtle Rage” that “mass” includes Heckler’s multi-talented collaborators. All were encouraged to contribute personal material, heightening the piece’s themes of “grief, resurrection, and transformation.” The eclectic troupe includes the singer and classically trained dancer Mary Esther Carter, Brooklyn-based dance artist Katie Corkum; European-trained contemporary dancer Tina Forés Hitt; conceptual artist and dancer Alex Cobb; and Austin-based DJ and spoken word artist, Schivona Johnson, who Phantom regulars will remember for her performance with “Lunch” last summer.
Johnson, a professional sound engineer, worked with Heckler on her startling 2020 thesis project at the University of Texas-Austin, the film “Pink Booth Confessions.” This time around, she helped shape “Subtle Rage’s” compelling soundtrack which ranges from percussive hip hop and electronic originals to covers sung by the company, notably the John Prine classic “Please Don’t Bury Me.”
Not appearing on stage -- but there in spirit -- is Atlanta-based costume designer Phae Monae whose snake-themed creations add another layer of meaning. “They are so fierce,” said Heckler. As they shed skins, the performers’ archetypal characters deepen and “question the stories we’ve been told.” As astraballada posted on social media, “From the moment the dancers walked in, the hypnotizing effect of their costumes invoked a vast array of cultural and historical references.”
The Phantom shows are the fourth venue on a tour that began in Burlington and travels to Derby’s Haskell Opera House on August 17 and Middlebury College in October. Its content is appropriate for PG-13 audiences.
For more information, visit www.phantomtheater.org. Tickets available through the website and at the door.
