STOMP dances to the beat of its own drum at the Fine Arts Center – Massachusetts Daily Collegian

The iconic percussion ensemble lit up the stage at the Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall

When a man walks slowly onto a stage, nonchalantly sweeping past him, it’s rare for an audience to give him their full attention. This, however, was not a usual performance.

The lights go out. Another man joins him, making a simple beat with his rhythmic sweep. One by one more people join them, slamming their broomsticks on the floor perfectly in time. When the number is over, the audience erupts in applause.

This is just a glimpse of the energy and excitement the Bromery Center of the Arts felt after hosting STOMP at Tillis Performance Hall last weekend.

The internationally acclaimed percussion ensemble has performed three times at the University of Massachusetts, with one performance on Friday April 28 and two performances on Saturday April 29.

STOMP was based in 1991 by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas in Brighton, UK, and has spread to entertain audiences around the world. He has carried out for US Presidents, appeared on TV shows such as Sesame Street and Mister Rogers Neighborhood and were featured at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Over the years, the group has received several international accolades , including an Emmy Award for the 1997 HBO television special, Stomp Out Loud.

The set is famous for its use of everyday utilitarian objects to make percussive music, including matchboxes, Zippo lighters, trash cans and suitcases.

I love caddying,” said two-year STOMP member Declan Hayden. We use the child seat in the basket as a sort of snare substitute, and then there’s a cardboard box and a jug of water that sits inside the basket. We have a stick and we are going to hit the box in the cart and the jug and scratch them. We also glide on them across the stage and do choreography and that kind of stuff. It’s really fun.

For Hayden, who attended the University of Cincinnati for percussion and music education, performing with STOMP is a dream come true. He played drums for 14 years but never experienced anything as unique as STOMP.

In a college world you might have to wear a uniform or a tuxedo and there’s not much room for improvisation or self-expression, you just act out what’s written on the page, a- he declared. It’s kind of the first time in my musical career that there’s been a lot of room to put my own spin on things, whether it’s visually, musically or theatrically.

Hayden performs with North American company STOMP exclusively on tour; he joined the group amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He trained in New York for five weeks but was unable to perform during his first days with the band as the show was temporarily closed.

Now a seasoned performer, Hayden says a typical rehearsal lasts about an hour and takes place before each show. During rehearsals, more awkward moments of the show are practiced, such as when metal paint cans are juggled between performers.

This current tour, which began in October, marks a turning point for the percussion ensemble. STOMP’s long-running off-Broadway show in New York farm on January 8, 2023, after 29 years and nearly 11,500 performances. Their show in London’s West End also closed recently, final a 15-year run in January 2018.

Despite the closures, STOMP continues and audiences can’t get enough. Nathaniel Laursen, an 18-year-old from Barre who attended the 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, said STOMP was an amazing experience. The performers were amazing and clearly professional.

Her favorite routine in the show was Hands and Feet, in which the performers only use their hands and feet to make music. They showed how, despite being a very simplistic concept, they could even turn it into an amazing performance, Laursen said.

STOMP’s set, much like its routines, was filled with everyday objects. The performance used a two-story set, dressed top to bottom in an industrial aesthetic, complete with street signs, oil drums, and metal ladders to move from level to level. While at first glance the set appears static, the set took full advantage of its surroundings, including flipping a Go sign to read Stop at the end of a routine, prompting a round of applause.

At the end of the performance, STOMP received two standing ovations from the audience. The first came after the finale, which saw the entire ensemble playing bucket drums and battling with trash can lids. The second came after a surprise call-back number, where the band members did a call-and-response with the audience, complete with applause, claps, and of course, stomps.

Nathan Legare can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @NathanLegare23.