Homeward Bound

Solo performance, critiquing notions of gender identity - danced to a stirring sound-track of sea-shanties, fully-equipped with sailor-suit and lilo, this sailor-boy travels gallantly across the seas. "...She begins by inflating a lilo with a footpump looking seductively at the audience as she, at first slowly, and then with increasing speed and intensity, pumps with her foot, whilst also swaying her hips and body. The build up in speed and tension of the 'heavy breathing' of the lilo hints at orgasm. ...For much of the time Spanton stares out boldly at the audience - she flirts with her body and her eyes playing with the distance between herself and us. ...Spanton's performance in Homeward Bound might also be read in terms of a kind of becoming or transformation, since elements of her performance are most certainly 'inherently unstable and changing' (Grosz, 1994a: 80)". Valerie Briginshaw, Dance, Space, and Subjectivity Palgrave, 2001.