With Brighton, England as their starting point and having engraved a course of about 20 years the creators of the musical and dancing team Stomp, Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell, managed from members in one simple street band with the name Pookiesnackenburger, to conquer the public with their performances.
Stomping their feet, as their name suggests, they started in early 90’s to use the simplest and daily objects such as tins, bins, matchboxes, brooms to transform them with their imagination to musical instruments and to experiment with their sounds. In the beginning they were eight, but they also collaborated with others making small groups. They created their impressive show which is based on beat in combination with theatre, dance, and improvisation and performed in various places worldwide leaving the best impressions.
In 1994 they won the award Laurence Olivier for ‘‘Best Choreography in a West End Show’’, the OBIE award for ‘‘Off Broadway show’’ and the New York award for the ‘‘Most Unique Theatre Experience’’.
In 1996 they took their chance with the short film ‘‘Brooms’’, which was nominated for an Academy Award, while in 1998 the film ‘‘Stomp out loud’’ won the Silver FIPA award in ‘‘music and live’’ at the cinema festival in Biarritz.
Stomp love Greece and have proved it. In 2000 they appeared in Herodion, in 2003 in the Theatre of Petras for the Festival of Percussions, in 2006 and in 2008 in the sold out concerts in the Lycabetus Theatre. This year we will enjoy the ‘‘kings of beat’’ as they call them, for the first time in a closed theatre, in Badminton from 30th November to 5th December 2010.
Vassiliki Saslidi 28 November 2010
Date
30 November 2010 to 05 December 2010Location
BadmintonReviews
Stomp chose Athens as a station in the tour for their 20th birthday.
In this concert they offered us inspired rhythmical forms from martial dances, but also from the everyday routine, connected with elements from the theatre and the pantomime.
The stage reminded of an alley of an American slum with garage doors and buckets. They first appeared with their brooms making a very dynamic beginning, so much dynamic that they had also to use also the backups, after the first ones broke. They wetted the first line with sinks and saucepans and after sponging they came out to read their newspaper in a not so much calm way…
With matchboxes they made Marrakesh, the lighters became lamps in the Christmas tree, they duelled with wooden poles and showed us how to hear new sounds playing with plastic pipes and paper bags.
Somewhere in the middle of the show they lowered the lights and the 8 dancers went up the structure that they had for the setting, which was turned out to be a big musical instrument. Hovering over this structure they made music with any object you can think of, from plastic, glass, metal or timber and they nailed the attention of the audience.
The way they used the sounds from basket balls, tin chairs and buckets in different sizes was impressive and so it was the alternations of the objects among themselves, exceptionally difficult in timing.
Towards the end Stomp with the buckets and the lids stole the show. They made their entrance sliding on metal lids that they kept in their hands, they made them skates, they wore the buckets for shoes and trampled the scene.
The communication between the audience and them was since the beginning direct and the moments of laughter and enthusiasm very many. In the end after we all learned a beat, they made their last piece with ‘‘quiet’’ brooms and they left from the scene under continuous applause.
Vassiliki Saslidi 6 December 2010
Reviews
Stomp chose Athens as a station in the tour for their 20th birthday.
In this concert they offered us inspired rhythmical forms from martial dances, but also from the everyday routine, connected with elements from the theatre and the pantomime.
The stage reminded of an alley of an American slum with garage doors and buckets. They first appeared with their brooms making a very dynamic beginning, so much dynamic that they had also to use also the backups, after the first ones broke. They wetted the first line with sinks and saucepans and after sponging they came out to read their newspaper in a not so much calm way…
With matchboxes they made Marrakesh, the lighters became lamps in the Christmas tree, they duelled with wooden poles and showed us how to hear new sounds playing with plastic pipes and paper bags.
Somewhere in the middle of the show they lowered the lights and the 8 dancers went up the structure that they had for the setting, which was turned out to be a big musical instrument. Hovering over this structure they made music with any object you can think of, from plastic, glass, metal or timber and they nailed the attention of the audience.
The way they used the sounds from basket balls, tin chairs and buckets in different sizes was impressive and so it was the alternations of the objects among themselves, exceptionally difficult in timing.
Towards the end Stomp with the buckets and the lids stole the show. They made their entrance sliding on metal lids that they kept in their hands, they made them skates, they wore the buckets for shoes and trampled the scene.
The communication between the audience and them was since the beginning direct and the moments of laughter and enthusiasm very many. In the end after we all learned a beat, they made their last piece with ‘‘quiet’’ brooms and they left from the scene under continuous applause.
Vassiliki Saslidi 6 December 2010