Pulse: A STOMP Odyssey" paints a vivid sight-and-sound portrait of the many faces of world beat.

"Pulse," which opens today at Carnegie Science Center's Omnimax Theater, is something of a departure from the center's usual nature- or adventure-oriented IMAX fare. The film is the creation of the people behind Stomp -- the acclaimed troupe that combines dance and motion with a variety of everyday objects, including trash cans and barrels -- to create percussive movement pieces.

Stomp founders Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell directed this 2002 IMAX film, which combines footage of Stomp performing in gritty Manhattan buildings and streets with breathtaking sequences filmed across several continents. This exuberant rhythmic journey, which took two years to film, is delivered with high impact on the large-format screen.

When Stomp was invited to make an IMAX film, "We really didn't see how what we did on stage would translate to a large format," McNicholas says.

McNicholas calls himself "a huge fan" of IMAX films, especially "Chronos," an early production that traced the history of Earth using time-lapse photography and music.

"We wanted to do something in that vein that explored the rhythms of the world, the music of the world, and we'd weave Stomp into that tapestry."

McNicholas says they started out making a film about rhythm, and ended up making a film about humanity. "We set out to make a kind of National Geographic of rhythm. We were showing the different cultures and approaches to making music. Suddenly it becomes not so much about music but about how everyone's connected. Basically there is music in all of us. There's rhythm in all of us. And we all appreciate a beat."

"Pulse" features joyful and dynamic performances by ensembles from Africa, India, Japan, Europe, South America and the United States. Each in its way echoes and inspires the kinds of performances Stomp itself is noted for.

Live performance is the heart of what Stomp does, but McNicholas said making the transition to film -- and IMAX in particular -- made perfect artistic sense. "IMAX is such a beautiful format. It's kind of a crossover between theater and film. We find that audiences react to the performances in this film just as if they're watching a live performance."

And it gives them a chance to see performances they'd never experience otherwise -- nomadic tribes in Africa, and drumming from Brooklyn to Brazil. "You can't put a concert like that together. We couldn't put that on in Carnegie Hall."

McNicholas and Cresswell have a new IMAX venture -- "Wild Ocean" -- premiering this year.

Africa is home to several of the groups who perform in "Pulse": the Bayeza Cultural Dancers of Johannesburg demonstrate gumboot dancing, developed by miners working in the South African gold mines; Les Percussions de Guinee, the Moremogolo Tswana Traditional Dancers and the Qwii Music Artists' Trust and Khoi San Music.

Eva Yerbabuena, one of Spain's leading flamenco dancers, performs in a sequence filmed atop a Spanish fortress.

Stomp creates an amazing underwater sequence, with sound recorded using a high-sensitivity microphone borrowed from the U.S. Navy.

Sequences are tied together with common visual cues and images: A scene featuring Stomp in the concrete urban canyons of Manhattan segues to American Indian dancers performing in the Red Rock Canyon.

Beyond the dazzling visuals, the music and driving beats of "Pulse" also give the theater's high-wattage sound system a good workout.