Time to STOMP at the CCP in October

No matter what kind of music you like, the international theatrical sensation STOMP will have you dancing to the music of garbage can lids, buckets, brooms and sticks when they take the stage at the Cultural Center of the Philippines next month. "It has little or no melody in the traditional sense, so it doesn’t matter if your taste in music is jazz, classical, dance or pop. STOMP has no words, yet everyone can understand it," says a press release from the group.

Filipino audiences are probably familiar with STOMP from the Dolby Digital trailer that is seen in cinemas, but this October, they can catch the group live in Manila. STOMP is described as a high-energy show that promises to be an extraordinary experience combining percussion, movement, and visual comedy. The show is played entirely on non-traditional instruments, and the performers don't only make music but move to their own beats as well. Asked how an object gets transformed into a STOMP instrument, co-creator Steve McNicholas says both sound and look are important. "They have to have a unique sound, but also have to look great, and inspire us to play and to move with them," McNichols told GMA News Online. "Sometimes an instrument just doesn't give us an opportunity to move, to dance with it, so that makes it hard to turn into a routine, but some things just make you want to make shapes, or have a mock battle with it, and that’s when it becomes a stomp instrument!" Since it was founded in 1991 in Brighton, England by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP has delighted audiences from Hong Kong to Barcelona. The group has also raked in several awards including an Obie and a Drama Desk award for "Most Unique Theatre Experience." Even their advertising is unique, with interactive press kits making sounds that at first, may be classified as ordinary noise, but with the right rhythm, can begin to sound like music. Cresswell and McNicholas used to be members of the street band Pookiesnackenburger as well as the theatre group Cliff Hanger. STOMP's dustbin dance has its roots in Heineken's "Bins" advertisement, which was written and choreographed by Cresswell. After STOMP's premiere at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, it was proclaimed the Guardian's "Critics' Choice" and awarded "Best of the Fringe" by the Daily Express. In 1997, Cresswell and McNicholas came out with "STOMP Out Loud," a 45-minute television special for HBO. The feature received four Emmy nominations for direction, sound mixing, multi-camera editing, and art direction. The performance has gone from television to stages around the world. After almost two decades, STOMP remains an ingenious display of how simple things can be made into complex pieces of art. "It’s about making music with everyday objects, things you might even throw away," says McNicholas. Although McNicholas says that STOMP itself is somewhat anti-technology because of their choice of instruments, the show is also enhanced with technology, which comes in handy behind the scenes. "Especially in the sound department, to make sure you can hear every little thing that is played on stage," he says. - YA, GMA News STOMP runs from October 18 to 23 at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of CCP. Ticket prices range from P750 to P7000. Senior citizens enjoy a 20% discount. To book, call +632 891 9999, or visit the TicketWorld website All photos courtesy of Lunchbox Productions