Artwork by Katie Corkum

Celebrating Our 2024 Artist in Residence Program

“Subtle Rage”
by Millie Heckler

In 2024, our Artist in Residence program came to life in a remarkable way through “Subtle Rage”, a multidisciplinary performance created by VDA artist-in-residence Millie Heckler. Blending dance, voice, and original music, Subtle Rage explored how rage inhabits the body—its subtle and overt forms, its capacity to protect, and its potential to be transformed into a force for creativity and connection.

With its haunting original score, soulful vocals, and a cast of six extraordinary performers, the work unfolded like a ritual of release: a funeral that puts to rest victim identities and an invitation to step into clarity, vulnerability, and peace. Though Millie could not have predicted the cultural moment we are living in, the piece resonated deeply with the national mood—its themes of reckoning and renewal felt both timely and necessary.

The statewide tour—from White River Junction to Derby—brought more than 850 Vermonters into conversation with the work. Audience members described it as transformative; so did the artists who made it. The residency gave Millie and her ensemble the space, funding, and creative freedom to build something new and profound. Ensemble dancer Mary Carter shared, “I knew that upon moving to Vermont, I would carve out a way to create and express myself in dance here—but I did not envision a possibility of this magnitude.”

This is exactly what the Artist in Residence program is designed to support: bold creative risk-taking, paid artistic labor, community connection, and the elevation of dance throughout Vermont.

As the state’s service organization for dance, VDA is proud to nurture artists and bring impactful work to communities statewide. We are deeply grateful to our sustaining members, donors, and partners whose support makes this program possible.

If you believe in the transformative power of dance, we invite you to donate or become a member—and help us continue creating opportunities for Vermont’s dance artists to thrive.

Support VDA

Millie Heckler

VDA‘s 2024 Artist in Residence

Photography by Camille A. Breslin
Wardrobe Engineer + Creative HMUA by PhaeMonae

Millie Heckler is an interdisciplinary artist who merges movement, voice and original music to tell stories of empowerment through sensuality. Her practice lies in unlocking voices of the body. Through a practice of (re)opening embodied instruments—such as movement, vocalization, storytelling and imagination—she leans into self-remembrance: What am I capable of creating? 

Heckler holds an MFA in Dance and Social Justice from University of Texas Austin and a BFA in Dance from University of Colorado Boulder. Her work has been supported by Vermont Arts Council, Cultural Arts Funding Program in Texas, New York Live Arts and Vermont Dance Alliance, among others. Heckler is co-founder of the Vermont-based interdisciplinary female collective, lunch, exploring multiple shades of intimacy. She is also co-founder of the Austin-based Yes Body dance and music event dedicated to relentless self-progression and the pursuit of fearlessness. Her dance-for-camera project Pink Booth Confessions, dealing with the complexities of sexual harm and healing, has received international laurels and recognition. She is currently in the process of building a new evening-length dance theater work exploring the sensuality of rage as the recent recipient of the Vermont Dance Alliance Residency Program. 

Heckler has taught House, hip hop, contemporary, improvisation and created original choreography at University of Vermont, University of Texas Austin, University of Texas El Paso, El Paso Community College, Texas A&M, and Community College of Aurora Colorado, as well as many other schools and studios nationally and abroad. She currently teaches improvisation at the Women's Correctional Facility in South Burlington, VT. She danced for Charles O. Anderson/dance theater X and was a principal dancer for Rennie Harris Grass Roots Project. Working for Rennie Harris, she assisted with dance projects for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bates Dance Festival, Earl Mosley Institute for the Arts, and Institute for Dunham Technique Certificate, among others. Heckler uses art as a catalyst for claiming the sensuality of her authentic experience and as an instrument for building community.

Subtle Rage Ensemble

Alex Cobb
Performer

Katie Corkum
Performer

Mary Carter
Performer

Schivona Johnson
Sound Engineer, DJ, Singer+Songwriter, Producer, Performer

Tina Forés-Hitt 
Performer

PhaeMonae
Costume Designer

  • Performer

    Alex is a dancer, improviser, conceptual performance artist, teaching artist, and community organizer. They have a unique path to performance that entwines a background in competitive athletics, studies of earth science, a passion for community organizing, and a fascination with alchemizing grief. Their formal studies began at Middlebury College with Christal Brown and Laurel Jenkins. They've performed in works by and alongside Sam Kann, C Green, Julian Barnett, Laurel Jenkins and Millie Heckler. With their dance collborater Grace Palmer they've choreographed for Burlington's Highlight and recently produced an evening length show at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts. Their solo theater work has been shown at the Flynn Space. Throughout it all, they dance because when they think about how they want to live each day, they want to live dancing.

  • Performer

    Mary Carter (she/her) is a dancer, singer-songwriter, and choreographer. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where she studied ballet under Robyn Hartley and apprenticed for the St. Louis Ballet Company where she had the opportunity to perform in the ballets, Serenade and Giselle. She spent summers at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and The Ailey School. She then furthered her training at The Ailey School on Fellowship, performing works by Judith Jamison, Take Ueyama, and Francesca Harper and later attended Matthew Corozine Studio Theater for acting. Among her many collaborations in NYC as a freelance performing artist, highlights include dancing for The Francesca Harper Project, Touch Performance Art, Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), Amy Wan Man Cheung (Chashama Art Gallery), Willy Laury and most recently interdisciplinary artist Janet Biggs - performing works at The New Museum, Fridman Gallery, and The United Nations in New York City.

    In 2019 Carter released her debut EP entitled, “DOULA”, establishing herself as a musician with the vision of bringing her movement and love for cross-disciplinary art forms underneath the same umbrella. Her live music sets and music videos blend all of her art forms into one cohesive story of sound, movement, and emotion. She is passionate about conjuring her authentic voice and helping others do the same through the healing potential of movement, vocalization, and improvisation.

  • Performer

    Katie Corkum (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based dance artist whose purpose lies in evoking feeling and provoking change. Her work is in inhabiting her body and experiences and in creating work with relevance to this and the social issues that call her to move. She holds a BA in Dance from the University of Vermont and practices primarily contemporary dance forms and pole dance. Her primary media are dance, writing, and visual art, with auxiliary skills in piano performance/composition and costume design/construction. She has recently performed in works by Julian Barnett, Bernard Brown, Millie Heckler, Hye-Won Hwang, and Isadora Snapp. Art is the only way in; art is the only way out.

  • Performer

    Tina Forés-Hitt (lover of rythm and movement) was raised between Spain and the US. At a young age, her mom signed her up for dance lessons at the neighborhood studio in Valencia, which is where her curiosity (or passion?) for dance sparked. She spent six formative years at the Professional Conservatory of Dance in Valencia, focusing on contemporary dance. In Austin, Texas, she joined the Diverse Space Dance Theater. She went to arts colleges and studied contemporary dance and performance at ArtEZ (Holland) and at SEAD (Austria). The BODHI Project took her on a dreamlike world tour, and performing under the direction of Jan Lauwers at the Salzburger Festspiele was a remarkable experience.

    Currently, Tina studies tap dance under the direction of Linda Joy Sullivan. She is a member of Entity Dance in Vermont and is also in the making of a movement research project with a marine biologist in Colombia with CoME (Colectivo Movimiento Expansivo). Today, Tina stands fortunate and grateful. She thanks VDA for this beautiful opportunity and Millie for including her in this transformative journey.

  • Sound Engineer, DJ, Singer+Songwriter, Producer, Performer

    Schivona Johnson, also known as Schi the God, is a versatile audio engineer, artist, and DJ based in Austin, Texas. She has headlined The Unleash Movement Festival and performed at renowned venues like Cheer Up Charlies and the Coconut Club. In the studio, Schi has collaborated with notable artists such as Just Blaze, Black Odyssey, and Royal Forest.

    Schi's passion lies in the vulnerability of storytelling, a theme that permeates her work. She holds a degree in Audio Production from the Art Institute and currently serves as a sound engineer at King Electric Recording. Since stepping into the world of dance and performance art in 2017, Schi has shared the stage with Millie Heckler (PBC) and contributed sound design in collaboration with Frank Wo/Men Collective and Touch Collective.

    When she's not on the decks, Schi is behind the mic hosting her podcast, Third Eye Snacks, which aims to awaken, inspire, and nourish minds. Her mission is to encourage everyone to stay woke and tune into their true selves. Schi is also the resident DJ for the Austin-based collective Sundays Sessions.

  • Costume Designer

    As a multi-disciplinary artist PhaeMonae’s goal is to uplift communities through engagement and the perseverance of art-making as a tool for social change. PhaeMonae challenges world issues through art and they also make art for art's sake cuz it's good for her. The work is always an anthology of real people's narratives. They particularly portray this through the beautification process in the sense of black hair, black fashion, and its innovations historically in retrospect to today's pop-culture.

    “To sew for movement invites the mind to imagine beyond earthly wills but to explore a deeper and futuristic dreamscape”. PhaeMonae has currently been practicing what defines black futurism, mixing hip-hop/club culture and fine art/high fashion cultures. The booming brainchild is street wear, meets bedroom chic, meets a sprinkle of magic couture. She wants to test the boundaries of what’s “wearable” and do it with “maximalism”. PhaeMonae believe themselves to be someone who everyday gets dressed with the intention of setting the tone for the day. “If I look good and feel good my day can start over at any moment”. It is a meditation and self-practice of gratitude and godliness. It’s a refresh and redress kind of vibe. Shape how the world sees you.

    PhaeMonae has worked with Gloatl, Core Dance, and T. Lang dance, as a performance artist. They have since become a wearable art, design, and sculpture artist. She is a recipient for Art on the Beltline Arts and Culture “Beltline After Dark” 2024 series. PhaeMonae and team will create an embodiment intersecting hip-hops emergence and the lifespan of the Cicada through dance, sound, sculpture and fashion. PhaeMonae and Lev Omelchenko created a dance on film “Free Noir Papillon” that explores the relationship of PhaeMonae as a black woman birthing a black boy in the midst of a pandemic and civil unrest. The FNP film has been featured in over 10 film festivals including “Atlanta Film Festival”, “Cucalorus Film Fest”, “Miami Shorts”, “Brooklyn Film Festival”, “Nitehawk Shorts”, and “Sidewalk film festival,” just to name a few. PhaeMonae has costumed dances for film and stage like Beacon Dance “A piece : Through the senses”, Anicka Austin and Sierra Kings’ work “Untitled”, and Millie Heckler’s “Pink Booth Confessions”. This spring PhaeMonae will premiere new design work in Madison Lee’s thesis dance entitled “soft underbelly” for Emory University and Meaghan Novoa’s work presented by A&E and The Mayor's office of Cultural Affairs entitled “In This House”. PhaeMonae will also premiere new work through DanceATL's "Engaging ATL Fellowship", "Summer Pantheon" at The Underground ATL, and "Subtle Rage" in Vermont summer and fall of 2024.