Percussive music and intense movements makes for a great evening

Stories – The Tap Dance Sensation, is a show by the acclaimed RB Dance Company. The show initially premiered back in 2019 in St. Witz France, before opening in Paris in 2020 and winning a slew of awards in 2022 at the Trophees de la Comedie Musicale ceremony. There have been over a hundred performances of this show in Paris, and it is now in London. It tells the story of a young actor starring in a film, while dealing with an oppressive director as the line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly blurred. The show also just so happens to contain some of the best dancers that France has to offer.

This show starts incredibly. The percussive music and intense movements of the dancers immediately grab your attention and bring you into this world. The opening song also builds incredibly well, heightening the intensity again and again. I was enthralled. The show also seems to know that this is an incredible number, as it also acts as the curtain call reprise, which I was thrilled about. All of the dancers were incredible, entirely synchronised when needed, and doing great character work as well as great dancing. I make no claims to be a technical expert on tap and jazz, but everything seemed to be marvelously well done with some truly impressive and breathtaking moments of talent. 

I was also a fan of the music in this show. Most songs had strong percussion, which matched with the tap dancing moments perfectly. Some of the spoken word lyrics worked really well and helped to set the tone of the piece, however some of the lyrics, especially in the titular song “Stories”, felt very on the nose for me in terms of cliche and it took me out of the show a bit. Overall though, I was a big fan of the music and if they release the soundtrack I will definitely be listening.

The story of this show almost felt a bit irrelevant at times. Some of my favourite moments in the show were the more scene setting sequences, rather than those that drive the narrative forward. It is a relatively simple plot with some surrealist aspects, which worked well in this medium. I did not find myself particularly connecting with any of the characters, and I was more focused on being impressed by the fantastic dancing happening in front of me.

The set itself is very clever with lots of different locations being created swiftly and smoothly, and the strobe and lighting effects were very well done, although the strobe was perhaps a little overused by the end.

In conclusion, I do not go and see many dance shows, but I was enchanted by this show. I highly recommend it to anyone, whether you be a seasoned dance fan or not. There is lots to enjoy for all and could act as an excellent gateway into seeing more dance performances in the future.