Giving back to the next Generation – STOMP Workshop at Rugby School
As many of you know STOMP provide workshops for all kinds of people in all corners of the world, for all kinds of reasons. Over the last few years its become a summer tradition to provide a day long workshop at a school in the UK. The workshop culminates with a performance at the end of of day. This performance is put on by the students who have taken part in the workshop. Who perform alongside past and present members of the STOMP cast. This year we did a STOMP workshop at Rugby School, famed for being the birth place of the modern game of Rugby. Its where local lad William Webb Ellis, with a disregard for the rules of football, picked the ball up and ran with it. And during our workshops we kept keeping that rule breaking tradition and taught music with the unconventional.
A well oiled machine!
With well over 100 students taking part in the workshops, we were split into 5 groups. Paul and Sam had Poles. Billy (Trash Bang) Fish and Rob had Pipes and Bottles. Adam and Loraine had hands and feet. Andy and Joe had Basketballs and Frogs. And finally, Serena and myself had Brooms. In each group we began by assessing our strengths and weaknesses to be able to get the most out of all taking part. 4-5 hrs is not a lot of time to create and rehearse a new STOMP routine if you’ve never done it before. But as the old STOMP proverb goes “Make It Work!!!!”
Performance Time!
The STOMP workshop at Rugby School culminated in a show where students performed what they had learned alongside the cast. All the groups did incredibly well and really held their own under such a pressured situation. The show lasted nearly an hour and by the end the crowd of around 1500 were on their feet. A testament to the hard work the students put in.
The day was tough for all involved but the rewards for both teachers and students was more than worth it. All smiles at the end of the day…or maybe that was the drinks we were holding. Either way, bring on next years Workshop.
Thanks for having us Rugby!!
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