Phantom Theater presents Paufve Dance, Aug. 7-8

July 30, 2026  |  By Kate Youngdahl Stauss

Technically brilliant and deeply emotional, Paufve Dance comes to Phantom Theater. Photo by Stephen Texiera

A nationally renowned modern dance troupe takes center stage when Phantom Theater presents award-winning choreographer, performer, and scholar Randee Paufve in a retrospective of her work at the Edgcomb Barn in Warren, Friday-Saturday, Aug. 7-8.

For decades, the San Francisco-based Paufve has been hailed for her emotional and technical brilliance, putting her in a class of her own. “You can’t pinpoint me,” she said. “I have experimented across and trained in many different forms, all of which influence my work.”

The desire to push boundaries started early. While still an undergraduate, Paufve traveled to south India to study classical dance but quickly switched to folk dance and martial arts. “I was questioning the whole mode of formality and training at this point in my life,” she recalled. “I went from studying rarified forms – classical, jazz, and modern dance – to studying what people were doing in the streets.”

She became curious about the roots of movement itself, asking, “What makes it real? What makes it believable?” Those ideas sent her on a unique path, bringing wide recognition. Among many prestigious awards and residencies, she has been a featured artist on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and received the Bay Area’s 2015 Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Individual Performance.

In 2019, she garnered a Fulbright Scholarship, which brought her back to south India 36 years after her first trip to study in the same town with the same people. It was a deep dive into what changes and what remains the same in the face of influences from the modern world.

Styles may shift, but Paufve’s themes remain constant: womanhood, community and resilience. All will be on display in the Phantom program. In “99 Acres,” Paufve excavates her childhood in upstate New York, a story of nature and the land that should resonate strongly with Vermonters.

In an excerpt from the celebrated “Sisters,” an explosive event from Paufve’s family history sparks a revelation about the power of sisterly bonds and sisterly secrets.

Two contrasting solo pieces showcase the exuberance of youth and limits of aging. “Olivia” is set to Brazilian rock music, a cultural touchstone for dancer Olivia Caldeira, who was still a teenager when Paufve began collaborating with her during the pandemic. Paufve herself will perform “Dirt,” which, she says, is “still pretty raw.” In it, the artist wonders, “What is it to dance at 55? Not as I used to but who I am now?”

A fifth piece explores a more cosmic question. Prompted by the tragic events of  9/11, “In Exhale” asks what happens when you take a flying leap, like the people who leapt from the Twin Towers. “It’s a meditation on that moment,” Paufve explained. “Stepping into the unknown.”

Craving more beauty in uncertain times, these days Paufve finds herself circling back to her origins. “I have again a full-blown love of making a dance that’s about something, of working with highly trained dancers and presenting to audiences in formal spaces,” she said.

It is a return that emphasizes what has always inspired her:  “Form, beauty, skill. To move and be moved.”

Performances on Aug. 7 and 8 are at 8 p.m. Tickets: $20 in advance online or at the door.

Phantom Theater is located at the corner of Airport and Dump roads in Warren. More information at phantomtheater.org.

Kate Youngdahl Stauss is on the board of directors for Phantom Theater.