Community Spotlight: STOMP Troopers and Preservation Hall Musicans Kick Off Mardi Gras Season 2023
by Chelsea Reid
Many folks around the city are using their weekends to bust out their craft boxes to make costumes and throws for the upcoming parade season. For special needs music educator Sarah Ambrose, art therapist Kate Lacour, and the musicians of Preservation Hall, their Saturdays are about embracing the chaos of Mardi Gras to provide non-traditional sensory programming for youth who are autistic.
Ambrose and Lacour founded NOLArts Learning Center ten years ago when they held music and art therapy sessions from their living rooms. Those sessions have since evolved into forming the STOMP Troopers, an Autistic program that partners with the musicians from Preservation Hall to prepare their members for the high sensory experience of marching with Krewe of Chewbacchus. For most of their members, their first time experiencing Mardi Gras was after they joined the STOMP Troopers.
“Most of our members' families have not taken their kids to a parade before because, as a parent, it sounds like a horrible idea,” Lacour stated, given that the crowd, noise, lights, and activity that comes with parade season can be an overwhelming experience for those who are autistic. Instead of shying away from the chaos of Mardi Gras, it became an aha moment for Ambrose and Lacour.
When asked why they use Mardi Gras as an anchor point for art therapy, Ambrose said "There is a vibrancy in New Orleans that does not happen in traditional therapy practices."
Traditional autistic programs tend to be more clinical by sticking to a rigid curriculum that participants go through. A STOMP Troopers rehearsal abandons structure in favor of a loose schedule, offering new activities for members to try. From there, members are free to engage in what interests them. For some, that is strutting their stuff at the end of rehearsals by performing a talent. For others, that is sitting at the doorway and stamping Mardi Gras throws.
There is also no one measure for what constitutes a successful rehearsal. “We do not tell our members how to be. We give them space to be themselves. We do not need to give them our stamp of approval on who they are,” stated Ambrose. By giving space, members often come to find new passions.
STOMP Trooper Andrew, and Preservation Hall musicians Kevin Louis and Will Smith, practicing trumpets during STOMP Trooper rehearsal. Photo by Chelsea Reid
One such member is Andrew, 23. When Andrew started with the STOMP Troopers, he was really into singing jazz ballads. After working with trumpeters Kevin Lewis and Will Smith, Andrew became set on learning the trumpet.
After Ambrose and Lacour helped get him a trumpet, Lewis, Smith, and the other Preservation Hall band members took Andrew under their wing and taught him how to play multiple songs which performed with them throughout the parade.
The Stomp Troopers' impact expands beyond its members. The Programs Manager of the Preservation Hall Foundation, Pamela Blackmon, described their partnership with the Stomp Troopers as having "Brought immeasurable joy and newfound creativity to this growing community. When opportunities [like working with the Stomp Troopers arise], the Preservation Hall musician's responses are always a resounding exclamation of pure excitement."
Clarinet player Bruce Brackman shared, "One of the moms, Ms. Karen, said [it is a dream of her] son to be in a second line, and that touched me the most. I am honored to be making that happen."
Members of the STOMP Troopers march down Decatur Street on Saturday, January 28th, with the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus.
The Preservation Hall Foundation Community Spotlight series highlights outstanding organizations and individuals of the New Orleans cultural ecosystem, who uphold the ideals Preservation Hall stands for, working collaboratively to protect, preserve and perpetuate the musical and cultural traditions of New Orleans.
Community correspondents embed themselves into the work of these organizations and individuals, creating their own Community Spotlight with words, photos and video. Stay tuned for the next Community Spotlight and learn more about the 2023 PHF Community Engagement grant awardees here.