France’s answer to Diversity in the form of tap-dance fusion ensemble RB Dance company has come to the Peacock Theatre to make an impression with Stories—a show that embodies the Got Talent aesthetic.
From the first few moments of revolving, multi-storey set and music-video-eque lighting, the audience is guided to be in awe—this is a world of film noir pose striking and strobing and, as such, is familiar territory.
As we are tapped through the story of innocent young man, Icarus, arriving in a metropolis of underground clubs, media manipulation and gangsters, each sequence—the bar, the movie set, the fight alley and bustling street—is enjoyably brought to life.
Ensemble choreography featuring turns, extensions and jazz steps reminiscent of West Side Story conveys the mood of the monochrome crowd and its characters with broad strokes. There is also tapping… which is hard to see, depending on where you’re sitting.
The nature of the show—its sheer production values and immersive soundtrack of rapping and blues—does overwhelm the element that it is built around: tapping. I would bet money on the show’s tapping being synced with a recorded track.
Not being able to hear the raw flicks and ball-changes of metal on the stage, without loud over-scoring, is a disappointment to anyone who really loves the form, especially when this element of sound is foregrounded in the classic movies many in the audience will have grown up with.
But it’s clear that Stories is making an appeal to new family audiences that would just as likely invest in the stage effects of an iconic pop concert as much as a dance show. There is also something inclusive about the show’s approach to casting, as the figures on stage do not all conform to one body type. This is where the evolution of the piece is interesting, as, although the group has been developed through ‘manufactured’ entertainment TV—Got Talent—it has grown from a genuine community of performers and enthusiasts.
The ensemble’s final appeal for applause is during the encore, in which massive drums are lowered and thwacked, River Dance style, to the beating of tap shoes.
Although the show is more of a multi-level, aesthetic journey than a story and tapping does present as a secondary form to jazz and AV, Stories will bring a wide and diverse family audience into the fold of dance-theatre, with the kind of gusto and confidence associated with its country of birth.