STOMP AUDITIONS IN LONDON

Happy New Year from STOMP!

Well, what a year we had in 2012: our 21st birthday, taking part in the closing celebrations of the Olympics, the return of The Lost and Found Orchestra and just before Christmas, in our tenth year in The West End, breaking all box office records! We’re really looking forward to 2013 and all of the new and exciting opportunities it will offer, and we wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who supported and followed us during 2012 – we couldn’t have done it without you! So let’s welcome in the 2013 the only way STOMP knows how: with a BIG BANG!

For regular updates follow STOMP on Facebook and Twitter: @STOMP_UpToDate, and follow STOMP co-creator Luke Cresswell: @BusterConductor

STOMP goes symphonic!

This Autumn the Lost and Found Orchestra is returning to the stage! After the global success of their unique take on rhythm and physical theatre, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas have taken the STOMP concept to a new level: where STOMP creates rhythm with everyday objects, The Lost and Found Orchestra transforms everyday objects into a plethora of invented instruments. LFO recreates every section of a symphony orchestra, using musical saws, bottles, whirly toys and traffic cones. Out of chaos is found an orchestra…

The orchestra, which features the cast of STOMP alongside our incredibly talented MELODY MAKERS, will be performing their symphonic spectacular at Le Carré Theater in Amsterdam and coming home to Brighton to perform at the Brighton Dome over Christmas.

For regular updates follow the LFO on Facebook and Twitter (@BusterConductor)

Behind the Scenes – STOMP Olympic Closing Ceremony Rehearsal

Last night, after the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) posted behind the scenes videos on their YouTube site, including a glimpse of STOMP rehearsing their piece for last night’s participation in the event.

It was the largest ever assembly of STOMP performers, with 40 performers from 13 nations representing us on stage. Added to that were 100 dancers with brooms plus thousands of volunteers. The whole ceremony was directed by Kim Gavin, with musical direction by David Arnold. Kim requested that STOMP play suspended from giant models of Battersea Power Station, Tower Bridge and the London Eye, to accompany the Beatles “Because” and Elgar’s Salut d’Amour. He also requested we take the stage for a 2 and a half minutes worth of iconic STOMP performance: a mix of BINS, POLES and WALKERS on a scale never seen before. In a rare appearance, Luke Cresswell was suspended on the London Eye, and also took part in the featured STOMP performance.

Viewed by 26 million in the UK, an estimated 4 billion worldwide, the Closing Ceremony featured a host of internationally renowned British Pop Icons… and STOMP. We’d like to thank everyone involved for all their hard work in helping make this happen, and enduring outdoor rehearsals in a repeatedly rain swept Dagenham car park! We will post official photos here soon…

STOMP cast for the Closing Ceremony: Dan Baines, Phil Batchelor, Ignazio Bellini, Paul Bend, Johannes Bohun, Adam Buckley, Omari Carter, Nigel Clarke, Simone Clarke, Nathaniel Conroy, Pedro Consorte, Luke Cresswell, Hugo Cortes, Aideen Gallagher, Paul Gunter, William Hickling, Melanie Joseph, Michael Landis, James Lane, Sarah Lasaki, Laetitia Lawrence, Jasper Little, Guido Mandozzi, Melone M’Kenzy, Serena Morgan, Fraser Morrison, Cameron Newlin, Peter Nielsen, Sune Nielsen, Arild Nyborg, Fred Nye, Andrew Patrick, Leela Petronio Mourrat, Paul Russell, Gemma Shields, Reggie Talley, Ian Vincent, Simeon Weedall, Joe White, Paul White

The soundtrack was recorded and mixed by STOMP’s Mike Roberts at The Old Market in Brighton and Hove.

STOMP on SKY ARTS 2

For the first time on British Television, STOMP LIVE will be broadcast in its entirety on SKY ARTS 2: recorded before a live audience at the Dome Theatre in Brighton, in 2008, this show featured a mix of performers from West End, New York and touring companies. It is followed by another British TV premiere of the Oscar nominated short film, BROOMS. Also showing is The Red Balloon, nothing to do with us, but one of our favourite films… You can catch the show at 9pm on Dec 29, 3am Dec 30, monday 2nd Jan at 2pm and for the early birds, tuesday 3rd Jan at 8.05am..!

STOMP the ROYAL VARIETY

If you were watching the Royal Variety Performance on Weds 14 December, you couldn’t have failed to notice the opening number, a glorious celebration of world rhythms staged, orchestrated and choreographed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, creators of STOMP. It was a fantastic opportunity to revisit the concept of their Imax movie, PULSE, live on stage. Luke and Steve brought together on stage for the first time STOMP, KODO, the drummers of the ROYAL MARINES, 3RUN, EDUARDO GUERRERO (a flamenco artist who performs with Eva Yerbabuena), MICHELLE DORRANCE (a US STOMP performer who is a stunning solo tap artist in her own right) and last, but most definitely not least, the amazing DHOL FOUNDATION.

Johnny Kalsi of the Dhol Foundation with STOMP

Johnny Kalsi rehearses with STOMP and KODO

Put together in just three days in the Lowry rehearsal rooms in Salford, it was a meeting of minds and rhythms that mustn’t remain a one off event… Steve and Luke would like to thank everyone who helped make it happen, including the shows producer, Fiona Clark (who came up with the idea), our very own Liz Copp, Mike Roberts and Julia Walter, and our friends in Spain, Vicky Hayward and Eva Yerbabuena!

More backstage photos here.

Eduardo Guerrero rehearses with STOMP, KODO and the ROYAL MARINES DRUMMERS

STOMP’s 20th Birthday

This year marks 20 years of STOMP, from its humble beginnings at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1991, through almost 18 years in New York, 10 Years in the West End, a Las Vegas special and with 5 productions currently around the world… last monday we celebrated with a busk in Covent Garden (a tribute to our beginnings on the street) and a special performance in London, which featured cameo appearances by STOMP’s co-creator, Luke Cresswell, with 16 performers crowding the Ambassador’s stage. Afterwards we held a party at the All Star Lanes bowling club with lots of friends past and present, including Stephen Fry who gave us a nice tweet and Robert Llewellyn who gave us another Thanks to everyone who came, everyone who couldn’t be there and everyone who didn’t get an invite (!) for 20 mad years of STOMP…

Saturday Night Live

There are lots of times you might think you’ve seen Stomp on TV but it hasn’t been the real thing… this appearance on Saturday Night Live is not the real thing, but it’s the first faux Stomp appearance we’ve really enjoyed… we like to think of it as NYPD-STOMP…

STOMP Workshop Weekends – Brighton 2011

After sellout sessions during the Brighton Festival in May, STOMP is offering two weekend workshops, this August, at their brand new venue The Old Market in the centre of Brighton and Hove:

5, 6, 7 Aug 2011 Stomp Workshop Weekend – Ages 16+

Fri 7pm to 10pm, Sat and Sun 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm

£195 per person for the whole weekend – booking through TOM 01273 201800

12, 13, 14 Aug – Stomp Workshop Weekend – Ages 16+

Fri 7pm to 10pm, Sat and Sun 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm

£195 per person for the whole weekend – booking through TOM 01273 201800