"Pulse": An ode torhythm by the creators of "Stomp"
By Michel Moutot
NEW YORK, (AFP) - In 1981, two amateur percussionistsmeet in Edinburgh. Twenty years later, the internationally acclaimedcreators of the musical "Stomp" are introducing "Pulse,"an exploration of the universal language of rhythm.
Saturday, the Museum of Natural Historyof New York will release the film by Britons Steve McNichols andLuke Cresswell, subtitled "A Stomp Odyssey," on largeformat screen until the end of June.
"Stomp," in which a modern dancetroupe uses everyday objects in nontraditional ways, has triumphedfor nine years on Broadway and the world over. Five troupes playedit simultaneously on five continents and more than eleven milliontickets were sold.
Years later and equipped with better means,the two men traveled to the roots of rhythm, exploring the sightsand sounds of continents and cultures. They carried their specialcameras to Africa, Brazil, Japan and the United States, recordingthirteen percussion-based groups, traditional or not.
"We started off making a movie primarilyabout rhythm and we have ended up with a film that is about humanity.You are looking at the whole world through one language, the languageof rhythm, which is open to everybody. And it is also a languagethat we use everyday, even though we don't always know it,"said Cresswell.
"Every culture has different music,but the root of every form of music is rhythm, so that rhythmis common to everyone," added McNichols.
The 40-minute film, without dialogue ornarration, transports us to the Kalahari Desert, to the savannasof Guinea, the canyons of the American West, to a Japanese Island,a terrace overlooking Granada in Spain, the boardwalk of BrooklynBridge, the city of Salvador in Brazil and under the arches ofWinchester Cathedral in England.