A collaboration between dancer Mark Bleakley and percussionist Rémy Gouffault, Stepping In… Spilling Out recounts Bleakley’s own artistic practice through a study of stepping. Full of warmth, insight, and a little humour, Stepping In… Spilling Out is a gorgeously unfussy performance.
A white wire curls and folds across the perimeter of the stage, claiming it as Bleakley’s parent’s carpet. From there, a somewhat slow opening soon unfurls into a thrilling collection of various dance forms. Bleakley’s steps are tender and thoughtful; accompanied by Gouffault’s shapeshifting sounds, such care invites the audience to emotionally move through them with him, rather than simply watch. Throughout, we step into histories and politics; the multiplicity of a single step is celebrated. In this, his very practice becomes a performance (and one performed without pretence).
Together, Bleakley and Gouffault are playful: while deeply in tune with one another, they are also visibly awed by one another’s talent. This creative intimacy is a pleasure to witness. Recorded interviews with fellow dancers are likewise affirming; Bleakley steps, stumbles, spins across the stage, grounding their voiced reflections in movements. Such instances hold Stepping In… Spilling Out as a deeply resonant work.
Stepping In… Spilling Out, Assembly @ Dance Base, until 17 Aug, 7.50pm