Feet tap to the rhythm of drums and heads bob in sync with reggae beats that blare over the speakers. The dimly lit room is alive with anticipation and the excited chatter of a house that is packed before the show even begins.
Stomp, a show that offers a unique medley of percussion, movement and comedy, held its first performance in front of a sold-out audience Tuesday night at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Only a few tickets remain for the last showing, which will be held today at 7:30 p.m.
The show, which began in the United Kingdom in the summer of 1991, has been touring in North America for 15 years.
"It brings the community together in a way few other things can," said Michael Blachly, director of UF Performing Arts. "It doesn't matter if you're 8 or 80."
Blachly said he has presented the show more than 100 times in 15 years everywhere from Los Angeles to Gainesville, and each time it has sold out.
"It's full of energy, emotion; it's incredibly creative and never is a word spoken," he said.
Blachly could not disclose how much the production cost to bring to the university.
Stomp, which ran for 105 minutes without an intermission, captivated the audience by using ordinary items such as brooms, tin pans, lighters and inner tubes to make complex beats and visual displays.
At one point, performers were suspended in the air to play a beat with drumsticks on the large set hung with a variety of pans, road signs, buckets and fire extinguishers.
The audience roared with laughter at various points during the show in response to visual comedy, and even laughed at itself when it couldn't quite keep the beats straight when performers encouraged the crowd to clap along.
David Gold, who has been a volunteer usher at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for about 20 years, loves how innovative and high-energy the performance is.
"I'm in it for the free shows," said Gold, who has also seen performers such as Tony Bennett and Jerry Seinfeld.
"I've seen a lot of shows, and this is one of the best," he said.
