Stepping Up, a solo show by Daniel Nodder is the show to go to if you want to have fun and learn a few sweet dance moves along the way. A primarily dance centred show, Nodder uses multiple mediums and performance disciplines to take the audience on a journey of his discovery of dance and the childhood idols he subsequently found that influenced his life, and dance, trajectory.

The first sign that this isn’t going to be your usual dance solo performance is when Nodder introduces himself in a confident verbal projection and teaches the audience a thing or two about dance culture; specifically, the different ways to clap and appreciate the dancer depending on how good the dance is. It’s a fun introduction to the show that immediately breaks the icy fourth wall that is often so hard for performers to break naturally and with confidence; Nodder does so with ease. He instinctively guides the audience to a sense of ease and by the end of the show we have been taught new dance moves and are joining him on stage for a light-hearted, joyful dance circle.

This high level of audience interaction, as well as many lighting cues, image projection, musical cues, and playful, improvised yet in character, interaction with the stage manager, fills the emptiness that can often plague solo shows. This show does not feel like a solo, even though there is only one performer on stage. Instead, it feels like everyone in the theatre is involved, that this show is just as much a physical experience as an observatory event.

Nodder’s sharp proficiency in multiple disciplines is an outstanding feature of Stepping Up; it is just as much a comedy show as it is a dance show. Nodder is a natural performer. Comfortable on stage, he smoothly projects his voice to comfortably fill the room, yet it feels like he is talking directly to you, telling you his childhood story like he would tell a friend. His ability to read the room and his comedic timing is spot on, emphasised by the well-curated lighting and musical cues. Overall, the large range of performance disciplines used is extremely impressive for a performance publicised as a dance show.

Stepping Up is more than your average dance show; it fulfills dance’s primal role in bringing communities together and facilitating the experience of the joy of movement to a musical beat. Humans all have a physical body, yet in today’s social media-driven world we often deny our instincts to come together as a community and interact in physical space. Stepping Up enables the audience and performer to come together and interact joyfully through dance. This sense of community is carried outside the theatre too with the bonds we made by dancing together. After the show, every member of the audience stayed behind in the foyer to laugh, interact, talk, and just be human. I cannot think of a more worthy goal for a dance show than what Stepping Up accomplishes.

Stepping Up is presented earnestly and with a genuine feeling that Nodder is presenting his true self; this is his childhood story after all. A fun, light-hearted show, Stepping Up leaves you feeling connected to the people around you, energised, and with a smile on your face.

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