Stomp about Stomp!

Trying to categorize Stomp is impossible, so I'm just going to try and describe them the best I can. First and foremost it’s a performance group. They are a percussion ensemble that utilizes everyday objects such as plastic bags, trash cans (both plastic and metal), brooms, water, matchboxes, and lids to create amazing works of art that often involve a combination of acting, movement and story. What I love about Stomp is their unique sense of style that represents an exquisite set of skills that it takes to put one of these pieces together.

The video below entitled Brooms, is one of their most classic pieces. The basic structure of their piece revolves around several complex rhythmic segments, which are broken down into parts for the performers so that every nuance is unique to a specific part. These nuances can include different rhythmic accents or timbre changes, which in this piece is facilitated by different parts of the broom and stomping (in the most literal sense). If you watch, it is just a repeated pattern that is different for everyone that is put together to create the piece as a whole. Try picking out just one person and watch what they are doing. Notice how they are really just doing the same thing over and over again, and then notice how their part meshes with everyone else's. Dance (mostly of the tap variety) is also a common visitor in their works and in some parts of this, the broom almost acts like a 3^rd leg, and a 4^th leg in the solo towards the end of the clip.

In this one, they even explore pitch as a variable in cutting the tubes different lengths to produce different pitches. Check it out!

Here’s an exploration of musical instruments from their show Stomp Out Loud. Literally, anything can be turned into an instrument. Love it. Actually, my favorite part of this is the fact that there’s a rough storyline to it, like a competition to figure out who has the best instrument. It’s amazing that something as simple as trash and rhythm can make someone laugh so hard. Or maybe that’s just me?

Stomp is a group that you can’t just put into a box to categorize it. They are an ensemble that is completely unequalled by any other. Needless to say, if I were to get cast in a production of Stomp, my life just might be complete. I’ll leave you with a couple of my favorites that I think are particularly clever, though there are a million that I love. Just get on YouTube, and get lost for a good hour or so.

p.s. Stomp is coming to LA and the Pantages Theatre Jan 26-Feb 7 2010. I’m trying to get a big group together so we can get a discount on tickets. Contact me if you’re interested. :o)