National Geographic meets off-Broadway theater in this 2002 Imax movie inspired by Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell’s long-running dance revue Stomp. Exploiting the 60-foot screen height, the musical opens with a number staged across several stories of a New York tenement and traverses four other continents to explore the universality of dance. The 200-member Brazilian drum group Timbalada creates a wall of sound, the Granada skyline provides a panoramic backdrop for flamenco diva Eva Yerbabuena, and the white-feathered headdresses of djembe orchestra Les Percussions de Guinee blaze in the West African sun. Stomp veteran Keith Middleton acts as master of ceremonies, his gigantic close-ups suggesting a tap-dancing genie freed from his lamp. 45 min.
Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey
NR • 0 hour 40 min • 2002