Following a sold-out, highly successful UK premiere in 2024, STORIES – The Tap Dance Sensation from RB Dance Company returns this autumn with a three-week run at Sadler’s Wells’ home in the West End, the Peacock Theatre (14 -31 Oct) followed by a UK tour to Northampton, Bournemouth, Bradford, Edinburgh and Truro with further dates to be announced soon.
A modern take on tap dance, STORIES is a bold, energetic narrative-driven production that centres on Icarus, a successful young actor trapped under the control of a powerful film director. After a fierce confrontation, Icarus finds himself unable to break free from the director’s stranglehold.
Conceived by Romain Rachline Borgeaud, the story is brought to life by a cast of 10 exceptional dancers performing a fusion of tap dance and urban jazz to an original score composed by Romain himself. A dynamic, transformable set by Federica Mugnai transports audiences through a cinematic world of film sets, hotels, and gambling clubs, with atmospheric lighting by Alex Hardellet and costumes by Margaux Ponsard and Janie Loriault.
Founded in 2018 by artistic director, choreographer and producer Romain Rachline Borgeaud, RB Dance Company was initially created to revitalise tap dance and reintroduce it to contemporary audiences through ambitious large-scale narrative productions. With STORIES the company aims to modernise the art form while celebrating its theatrical roots.
In France, RB Dance Company rose to national prominence as finalists on France’s Got Talent in both 2018 and 2024. The company’s first stage production, STORIES premiered to critical acclaim, winning three awards at Les Trophées De La Comédie Musicale (France’s equivalent of the Olivier Awards), and has since been seen by over 300,000 people. The company has also developed its first full-scale musical, The Rise, which opened in Paris this March.
Romain Rachline Borgeaud began tap dancing at an early age before training in jazz and continuing his training at The Ailey School, the official school of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, in New York. He went on to perform in multiple musicals on Broadway, and after returning to France performed in Dance of the Vampires, and Stephen Mear’s Singin’ in the Rain and 42nd Street. Recently, Romain created the choreography for Molière, le spectacle musical and the revival of Les Misérables at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. In addition, he also choreographed the opening ceremony for the 2016 Champs Elysées Film Festival before founding RB Dance Company in 2018.
Of STORIES, Roman Rachline Borgeaud said: “After a remarkable response to the UK Premiere of STORIES, I’m delighted to be bringing this production back to the West End and on tour nationwide. The work explores themes of duality, using a contemporary dance language to express Icarus’s intense inner journey. I hope audiences enjoy being immersed in this cinematic world and sharing in the energy, emotion, and joy of tap dance.”
Visit rbdancecompany.com for full tour details and booking.
