Just Yours
Choreographed by Millie Heckler
Millie Heckler (she/her) has worked as a Lecturer in Dance at University of Vermont and University of Texas, as well as many other schools and studios nationally and abroad. She has worked for Rennie Harris, assisting in the creation of Lazarus and Exodus for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and has danced with Charles O. Anderson/dance theater x. She is co-founder of the Vermont-based interdisciplinary female collective, lunch, exploring multiple shades of intimacy. Her interests lie in unlocking voices of the body, unleashing latent energy, and focusing embodied power.
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FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER TO THE VIEWER:
I want to be held and I want to be loved. But I have also been hurt from being held and being loved. And I want to heal this hurt. But healing is painful. Healing requires bravery to go into the underworld of your darkest, deepest layers, to peel back the masks of illusion we wear. And I use the term “darkness” not in a negative way whatsoever. Darkness is where all creation emerges. Darkness holds all potential; it’s where seeds begins to sprout and ideas begin to take shape. In darkness, I let go of what I thought I knew—I let go of my old self—to make space for a new self to emerge. I do not know who this person is yet, but I will fight for her expression. In all the chaos, confusion, uncertainty and sorrow, I will fight for her.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF AFTER WATCHING THIS PIECE:
Have you ever felt like an old version of you is dying so that a new version of you can emerge, what is that process like for you? Have you ever felt stuck in the past, what does that feel like? What are the battles you face in your own life; what are you a warrior for? What are some masks you wear; what's beneath the mask?
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER TO THE DANCERS:
I would like to thank the dancers for being such a beautiful group of people. As a choreographer, it's essential to have dancers willing to carry out your vision, and these dancers are open and trusting of my process even though it's not always clear which way the ship is being steered. Trust is huge in the choreographic process. You have to have trust that the work will reveal itself to you as long as you keep giving it space to breathe and take shape. And this feels like the beginning of a much bigger work, this is just the beginning.
I want to be held and I want to be loved. But I have also been hurt from being held and being loved. And I want to heal this hurt. But healing is painful. Healing requires bravery to go into the underworld of your darkest, deepest layers, to peel back the masks of illusion we wear. And I use the term “darkness” not in a negative way whatsoever. Darkness is where all creation emerges. Darkness holds all potential; it’s where seeds begins to sprout and ideas begin to take shape. In darkness, I let go of what I thought I knew—I let go of my old self—to make space for a new self to emerge. I do not know who this person is yet, but I will fight for her expression. In all the chaos, confusion, uncertainty and sorrow, I will fight for her.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF AFTER WATCHING THIS PIECE:
Have you ever felt like an old version of you is dying so that a new version of you can emerge, what is that process like for you? Have you ever felt stuck in the past, what does that feel like? What are the battles you face in your own life; what are you a warrior for? What are some masks you wear; what's beneath the mask?
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER TO THE DANCERS:
I would like to thank the dancers for being such a beautiful group of people. As a choreographer, it's essential to have dancers willing to carry out your vision, and these dancers are open and trusting of my process even though it's not always clear which way the ship is being steered. Trust is huge in the choreographic process. You have to have trust that the work will reveal itself to you as long as you keep giving it space to breathe and take shape. And this feels like the beginning of a much bigger work, this is just the beginning.