"Stomp out loud" is performed in Beijing, capital of China, on Aug. 24, 2016. (Photo provided by the author)
BEIJING Aug. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- There are only seven dancers on the stage. They beat tin buckets, water sinks and broomsticks so passionately if not frenziedly, while the audiences clap, slap, and stomp -– this is indeed stomping out loud together, like the name of the musical.
Debuted on June 29, the dance troupe STOMP’s two-month-long Beijing tour is about to close on Sept. 4, after winning a daily average attendance rate of 85 percent in Beijing, according to news portal Sohu.com.
STOMP from Britain gives new life to almost everything that can make a sound, including human body parts and many daily household utensils.
It is eye-opening to see everything being able to sound musical – from trash can, match box to plastic tube to newspaper, and entertainingly experiential to join the rhythmic chorus.
To add to the surprise of the audiences, the dancers even broke a broomstick in their ecstatic swings and secured a new one to continue their performance.
Unlike traditional dance shows, the audiences are invited to contribute to the musical with their rhythm and sounds -- granting them new life and new role: they are longer silent distant onlookers, but are dancers themselves -- on a much bigger stage.
STOMP puts up impromptu shows, getting their inspirations on the theme and character -- unhurriedly on the same day of staging to make the shows more varied and more attractive.
An audience surnamed Yu said he has watched the show twice and each filled him with new experience.
Founded in 1991, STOMP stands out with its unique style and skill that combine movement with energizing percussion music.
It has put on more than 20,000 performances in 53 countries and regions since birth, including the closing ceremony of the London Olympic Games.
As its first-time tour to China, STOMP has incorporated elements with Chinese characteristics and objects it found at a Chinese destructor plant, including traffic signs reading “No entrance allowed” or “Construction ahead.”
It is possible that these made-in-China “scraps” would join its future global tour, according to a theater employee.
The musical is currently rated a high 9.2/10 on douban.com, a noted Chinese website for film, music and book reviews.
Many praised the show for blowing away their mind and most importantly, opening up a new horizon for people’s life which is often preoccupied with chores and bores: There is another side of life you may have long neglected. One that is dazzling with beats and vitality.
