Molly Fagan
Stephen A. Halsey Junior High School, Grade 8
Stomp is a unique, eye-catching show. The minute you walk into the theatre, you see a junkyard scene: garbage cans, broken signs, and plastic all around the small theatre. The stage is colorful and vibrant, and it's covered with tons of props. The seats are small and tight, but once the show starts, you forget about the seats and get pulled into a world of music and fun.
The performers in the show use different forms of everyday objects to make music--things like brooms, water cooler bottles, matchbooks, etc. In fact, there is no band playing in the background and no dialogue throughout the show--just the occasional sounds the performers make with their mouths.
And there's dancing. The performers incorporate their steps into the music. At one point, when the performers are making music with brooms and then start to tap-dance, it looks like a scene out of Mary Poppins.
Later, one of the performers throws sand on the floor, and the others then dance on the sand, making music with their shoes.
Throughout the show, there is added humor by the performers, and they speak to one another and audience members through gestures and facial expressions. The funniest of them all is Marivaldo Dos Santos. He seems to be the star of the show, since he's in almost every dance. He's the one who does the hardest dances, and who one uses the wildest props to make music.
The show progresses almost like a story. In the first song, all of the performers get to know one another through a dance, and throughout the show, the characters develop and get more familiar with one another.
There is also a lot of audience participation throughout the show. Some of the performers clap their hands to the beat, and the audience has no choice but to mimic what they do.
Stomp has been around for a long time: It originated in England in 1991, and when it came to America, it became a big hit. It's been running at New York's Orpheum Theater since 1994, and has since been made into a movie and an HBO special.
If you're into any type of dance or music,Stomp will sweep you off your feet.
The performers in the show use different forms of everyday objects to make music--things like brooms, water cooler bottles, matchbooks, etc. In fact, there is no band playing in the background and no dialogue throughout the show--just the occasional sounds the performers make with their mouths.
And there's dancing. The performers incorporate their steps into the music. At one point, when the performers are making music with brooms and then start to tap-dance, it looks like a scene out of Mary Poppins.
Later, one of the performers throws sand on the floor, and the others then dance on the sand, making music with their shoes.
Throughout the show, there is added humor by the performers, and they speak to one another and audience members through gestures and facial expressions. The funniest of them all is Marivaldo Dos Santos. He seems to be the star of the show, since he's in almost every dance. He's the one who does the hardest dances, and who one uses the wildest props to make music.
The show progresses almost like a story. In the first song, all of the performers get to know one another through a dance, and throughout the show, the characters develop and get more familiar with one another.
There is also a lot of audience participation throughout the show. Some of the performers clap their hands to the beat, and the audience has no choice but to mimic what they do.
Stomp has been around for a long time: It originated in England in 1991, and when it came to America, it became a big hit. It's been running at New York's Orpheum Theater since 1994, and has since been made into a movie and an HBO special.
If you're into any type of dance or music,Stomp will sweep you off your feet.
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