STOMP clangs, bangs at IU Auditorium concert

Using everyday items such as kitchen sinks, trash cans, brooms and newspapers, the performers of STOMP created rhythms and beats this weekend in the IU Auditorium.

“It’s so cool how they can perform an entire show without speaking once,” sophomore Allie Hurwich said. “I had heard good things about the show, and it turned out really great.”

Not only was the show rhythmical, it was also extremely visual. Performers used lighters during one scene to have a mini light show, making patterns with the lights.
The auditorium lights also created shadows on the wall that resembled giants marching toward the audience.

Whether it was a martial arts-inspired fight scene or men marching across the stage on giant trash cans, the shadows dancing on the walls added to the noises that were happening onstage. 

“The show was pretty awesome,” said Analilia Silva, an audience member and the director of global strategy and international initiatives for the Kelley School of Business. “It was really creative and different. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.”

Through the crashing and banging, STOMP managed to tell a story without words. Each performer had a character he or she portrayed and each had a starting role in at least one scene.

Humor was an underlying element that audience members of all ages enjoyed, especially when a performer was hit in the head from a prop being hurled at him from off stage — an event that was planned with the audience before the show. The performers’ competition for attention also led to many laughs.

The audience members were given a chance to create some beats of their own.
One of the performers divided the audience into different sections of hand clapping and feet stomping to create its own musical scene for STOMP.

“The musicality makes STOMP so popular because it’s the best way to reach people,” said Nicole Silvernell, a student volunteer at the auditorium. “Shows like this that are interactive and let the audience cheer and dance get the best response from an audience because they actually get to be a part of the show.”