Who's Who?

Columbus Short Meagan Good Ne-Yo Darrin Henson Brian J White Laz Alonso Valarie Pettiford Jermaine Williams Allan Louis Harry J Lennix Chris Brown Oliver Ryan Best Richmond Martyn Justin Hires Sahr Ngaujah Roderick Thomas

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DJ April Rich Brown Grant Sylvester Zeke Jackie Noel Dr Palmer Nate Duron Easy Mark Byron Harold Paul

The Inside Story It wouldn't be far from the truth to say that most Australians know very little about College life in the U.S.A or the art form of 'Step Dancing" the origins of which go back centuries to the African Boot Dance, which combines precise dance steps with chants and percussive hand and foot movements. Director Sylvain White, born and raised in France, has a personal connection to stepping. "My father was a fraternity member and stepped when he was in college. Being able capture it in a feature film for the first time is a really special thing for me. As a director, I have to be passionate about the subject. That came very naturally with stepping. It’s the main reason I wanted to be involved in this film." What also attracted him to the project was the positive tone of the story. "It's about college life and it's about very intelligent people. It has a simple, clean love story, but with all these layers. The two characters come from such opposite backgrounds that just the fact that they come together is a strong statement in itself." The lead character in "Stomp The Yard" is 'DJ' played by actor Columbus Short. "DJ Williams, the main character, is a kid from the streets of Los Angeles who knows nothing about the college world, who is transformed through his involvement with a fraternity," says founder and chairman of Rainforest Films William Packer. "This film has so many different components. You have the love story between DJ and April, the rivalry between the fraternities, which results in some unforgettable stepping, and ultimately, you have the lasting bond of brotherhood that DJ builds in the Theta Nu Theta fraternity. He initially thinks that it's all about stepping, but what he learns is so much deeper." Because of the strong connection the filmakers had to 'stepping' there was a drive for authenticity. And as for Australian audiences knowing little about the dance form, it seems Americans may be just as much in the dark! "Mainstream America isn’t really familiar with stepping; yet," says Packer. "We had a chance to create a rich view of this world that is relatable to people who know nothing about it. At the same time, even stepping aficionados will find it realistic. There hasn't been a film that has attempted a realistic portrayal of African- American college life since Spike Lee did "School Daze" in 1988. We try to be authentic and true to not only the stepping, which is spectacular, but also the goals of these organizations, which is to aid and serve the community." That rich view includes a pivotal moment in the film which is very inspirational. The photo exhibit in Heritage Hall, Truth University. "When DJ goes through Heritage Hall and sees all the different fraternity and sorority members from Martin Luther King to Rosa Parks to Dr. Betty Shabazz and Michael Jordan, it provides a bridge from the great leaders of the past to the astronauts, businesspeople, entertainers and politicians of today," says Packer. "And, just like on the step team, we all have to get together and combine our individual strengths to become one successful unit. I hope in some small way our film gets that idea across." As would be expected, the casting process was critical to the films success. "The single most important part of making any film is casting, and this movie offered an exceptional challenge," says director White. "We needed actors who could handle the emotional demands of these roles and also be able to dance at an extraordinarily high level. There are no dance doubles in this movie." That meant undertaking a nationwide search to find an actor who had the star quality, acting talent and dance skills to bring the character of DJ Williams to life. White recalled the moment when Columbus Short auditioned for them. "When Columbus Short did the scene for us, I was blown away. His acting was exceptional, his screen presence was exceptional. I thought to myself, please, please, I hope he can dance. I asked him the question and he just looked at me and smiled." It turns out Short is a popular choreographer and tour director for 'A' list singing stars including Britney Spears, Ashanti and Brandy. What was it about the character Short found attractive? "DJ has a lot of levels to him and that inner conflict makes him a great character to play. He’s on a journey through this brand new environment. He discovers stepping for the first time. He discovers love for the first time." Short impressed Executive Producer Rob Hardy who directed the films "Chocolate City" and "Trios". "We needed somebody with the swagger and confidence to represent this street kid, but at the same time enough of the moves and dance skills to just wow you. Columbus totally blew us away with his dancing. As an actor, he had the intensity, he had the sincerity and he had the edge to win the audience over immediately." And all without wires? "He came in one day and said he wanted to jump through the air and they made it happen. When you see the shot, you think there’s no way they did that without wires, but it’s all Columbus," says Hardy. Playing opposite Short in the role of Grant is Darrin Henson, a talented dancer, choreographer and director who has worked with such artists as Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and N-Sync and who White who knew of from his work on "Soul Food". "He is a dancer as well as an actor," says White. "I was looking someone who was a genius at both and I found just the guy who could do it." "With Darrin signed on, we had these two juggernauts of the dancing scene going up against each other," says Hardy. "It was a given that they’d be explosive together." For all his dance experience Henson had a lot to learn when came to stepping. And he had to learn it fast. "I was born and raised in the Bronx, and my style was street dancing. My awareness of stepping was just from seeing it at colleges. I had never even tried it, but I‘ve always loved drumming. I could see similarities between the two in the way you have to keep two rhythms going at the same time. That was my way into stepping," says Henson. His character Grant will probably be seen as the 'bad guy' of the film. Is he that bad? Not really, it seems. "Grant is the type of man who demands excellence of himself, and his brothers," says Henson. "He's well loved and very well respected, and he wants to maintain that." He also wants to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend April, but DJ gets in the way of that. Playing April, the beautiful and privileged co-ed who catches DJ’s eye his first day on campus, is Meagan Good, a young actress with an enviable resume who began her career at the age of four and has appeared in films including "Waist Deep", "The Cookout" and "Deliver Us from Eva". "Meagan brought elements to her character that I never anticipated," says White. "She's one of the smartest actors I've ever come across. She brings in really good ideas, and I totally trust both her instincts and her intellectual take on the film." Brian White plays Sylvester, big brother at DJ’s fraternity theTheta Nu Theta. "Brian had to go back to his roots for this movie," according to the director. "His character has to be one of the best steppers and the training he went through was amazing." For those who are interested, the dance style used in the film isn't pure stepping, but a blend of traditional stepping mixed with hip hop. "Stepping started out with traditional African elements like body percussion and coordinated group movement," says choreographer Dave Scott. "The fraternal organizations added the hardcore precision step moves. For the film, we wanted to update it by integrating some street style and wild acrobatic moves." That means there's something in the style for everyone. Because the performers came from such varied backgrounds and had such different levels of dance experience, Scott decided to have them all start from zero and put them through a rigorous training regimen in Atlanta at a 'Stepping Boot' Camp. Will Packer says it, "is a great way to describe it. The dancers rehearsed for six weeks solid, until the teams worked like a well-oiled machine. It looks like they've been at this far longer." Scott says it was all about teamwork. "They had to learn to work as a team. If people messed up, they had to do pushups. And the end result was that the whole stepping element became like second nature to them." Maldonado, Scott’s second in command, remembers the rigors of boot camp ruefully. "We'd even started bleeding, our hands were bleeding, we were numb, black and blue all over the place, it was crazy. It all paid off when we got to the point where we didn't even feel it any longer." "Dave kept amazing me with everything he did. We set out to create a new style of dancing, a synthesis of a bunch of different styles. It all has this rhythmic, military cadence to it that is typical of stepping, but it also has the immediacy of hip hop." Hardy was excited by the successful fusion of historical stepping with innovative, acrobatic dance moves. "Traditionalists will appreciate the hardcore stepping, the lines and the precision. Younger audiences will be familiar with the flipping, the somersaults and the krumping," he said. Director White acknowleged the hard work everyone put in saying, "I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to make a movie like this and to be surrounded by such gifted people." Synopsis

When an urban dance battle ends in violence, champion street dancer DJ Williams travels from the underground clubs of inner city Los Angeles to the moneyed precincts of Atlanta’s prestigious, historically black Truth University. Although his athleticism and his ambition have made him a top competitor in the gritty world of street dancing, DJ feels out of place at Truth, with its elite fraternities and expectations of professional success. In this alien environment that DJ discovers the world of stepping. An African-American tradition that has evolved from the centuries-old African Boot Dance, it combines precise dance steps with chants and percussive hand and foot movements. At Truth, it also plays a pivotal role in the longstanding rivalry between two campus fraternities. When DJ shows off his dance skills at a local club, he attracts the attention of Truth’s top fraternities and campus beauty April, setting off a vicious feud with April’s boyfriend Grant. a star stepper for Mu Gamma Xi. After DJ decides to join rival Theta Nu Theta, his bold street style revitalizes the decades long competition between the frats and challenges the stepping supremacy of Mu Gamma.

What The Critics Say

"If you've never seen [stepping], it's quite a show, and Stomp the Yard throws well-deserved light on this somewhat under the radar phenomenon." Stephen Hunter WASHINGTON POST "Despite its predictability, all that stompin' in this Yard will get you moving in your seat." Kit Bowen HHOLLYWOOD.COM "An inspirational dance movie, which, like an inspirational sports movie, runs on predictable rails." Peter Bradshaw GUARDIAN UK "You know, I've never been ashamed to admit I'm a sucker for a dance movie." Linda Cook QUAD CITY TIMES "The performance sequences are explosively exciting, and Short's acting is almost as accomplished as his acrobatic dance routines." Colin Covert MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE "A nod must be given to choreographer Dave Scott, who skillfully blends the dance styles into an explosive whole. Seeing Stomp the Yard for these bits alone is well worth it." Mary Houlihan CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

"Stomp the Yard is a strange and at times strangely compelling mix of black fraternity recruitment video and inspirational tale about a hip-hop boy in a stepping world." Rachel Saltz NEW YORK TIMES "Frenetic, raucous, exhilarating fable about finding your place in a group." Susan Granger SUSANGRANGER "Driven along by a decent cast who really turn it on during the musical moments, letting their steps tell the story." James White TOTAL FILM "If you're looking for a dance movie with heart, Stomp the Yard is the ticket." Annemarie Moody ARIZONA REPUBLIC "What we get is scene after scene of exhilarating routines, all leading up to the big finale. And with two furiously intense teams ready to dance each other off the stage, it's an absolute winner." Elizabeth Weitzman NEW YORK DAILY NEWS "If you ever needed a brief and graphic lesson in just how far the movie musical has come since Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers glided dreamily across the dance floor in Top Hat, this is it. The finale is a national dance-off, which is clearly meant to send you out doing a little high-stepping of your own." Sandra Hall THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

The Verdict "While the film "Stomp The Yard" is one easy to predict there's no doubting there's a lot here that will appeal to its target audience, the 'Y-Gen'. The plot's not hard to follow mainly because the storyline keeps telegraphing every change in direction well in advance of it happening on the screen. "Stomp The Yard" has a lot more appeal than the dreadful "You Got Served" thanks to a heap of fresh faces, exhilirating dance routines and a finale` that will have your head spinning and your feet flexing. Australian audience will most probably find the film's initial introduction of 'Step Dancing' a little on the humorous side. Fortunately, as the film progresses, the athletic efforts of those involved involved in the Frat Houses at Truth University quickly garner respect. And don't go 'dissin the black bros' because the art of 'Step Dancing' has gained a much deserved reputation in the USA. In the final analysis "Stomp The Road", for all its faults, provides an exciting, fresh introduction to the dance form. With Columbus Short and Meagan Good in the lead roles there's plenty of 'eye-candy' for both sexes. 3 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "STOMP THE YARD" stars .......
Columbus Short ["War of the Worlds" and "Accepted"]; NAACP Image Award winner Meagan Good ["Roll Bounce", "Biker Boyz", "Friday" and "Eve’s Bayou"]; Brain White ["Mr 3000", "Brick" and "The Family Stone"]; Laz Alonso ["Constantine", "Disappearing Acts" and "Jarhead"], Valarie Pettiford ["Glitter", "The Cotton Club" and "Like Mike"] and three time recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Citation for Outstanding Performance Harry J Lennix ["The Meeting", "Ray", "Barbershop 2", "Matrix Reloaded" and "Matrix Revolutions"] as Uncle Nate.
"STOMP THE YARD" was .......
directed by 2003 Telly Award winner Sylvain White ["Quiet", "Trois 3: The Escort" and "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer"]; screenplay by Robert Adetuyi ["Turn It Up" and "Code Name: The Cleaner"]; production design by Jonathan A Carlson ["Mortal Kombat", "Beowulf", "Highlander Endgame" and "Desperate Trails"]; director of photography Scott Kevan ["Wednesday's Child", "Cabin Fever", "The Hollow" and "Borderland"]; original music by Tim Boland ["The Rules of Attraction", "Waking the Dead", "Garfield the Movie" and "Taxi"] and Sam Retzer ["Arlington Road", "The Mothman Prophecies", "Garfield the Movie" and "Taxi"]; costume design by Keith G Lewis ["Men at Work" and "Diary of a Mad Black Woman", "Madea's Family Reunion"]; produced by William Packer ["Chocolate City", "Trois", "Trois 3: The Escort" and "The Gospel"]. Run Time 114 minutes Rated M [AUST] ©2007 - Sony Pictures - All Rights Reserved Rated [AUST] ENDURING© All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark laws applied.