Have you got a story to tell? So old sayings go, everyone has a book in them. And nowadays, there are so many fascinating ways to go about telling those stories.
It’s easy to blame the accelerating speed of technology as de-personalising and even eradicating our creativity, and perhaps that is true. But in response, in the meantime, don’t we just need to pay closer attention, to keep paying closer attention to nurturing our individuality, and to personally giving what we have to offer the world? Our creativity will only die if we stop using it after all; to quote another popular saying; if you don’t use it, you lose it!
So, what story would you tell? Pure escapism, in it for the laughs, a serious scientific-backed narrative, or a gentle story of touching humanity?
Much would probably depend on what effect you wanted to have on your desired audience. Dance Informa caught up with Romain Rachline Borgeaud, the creator of STORIES – the Tap Dance Sensation, about to be staged at the Peacock Theatre, London in October 2026, by French-based company RB Dance Company. This commences an Autumn tour for the company, who are heading to Northampton after London, as well as travelling all the way up to Scotland, and all the way down to Cornwall.
Borgeaud revealed his aim in staging Stories would be to have audiences leave the theatre filled with energy, but also with a sense of theatrical magic, “through a constant transformation of what is shown on stage,” he says. “I love those moments when people gasp and hold their breath. And, of course, I hope that people who already love tap will love it even more – while those who do not yet know it discover that it can speak to them, too.”
Award-winning Stories was launched after reaching the finals in France’s Got Talent in both 2018 and 2024, thrusting them into the spotlight, with a new kind of show, using tap dance, alongside urban jazz and percussion, to weave a narrative and having already been seen to date, by over 300,000 people!
Choreographers and companies using classical ballet, and now modern and contemporary ballet to tell narratives is accepted, expected and has been demonstrated across the centuries. To use tap dancing in this way is more of an intriguing unique venture, and spotlights in a great way a dance style that has perhaps slipped a little down the popularity ladder.
Borgeaud has an intriguing back story to explain where the initial idea for Stories came from. “Before even training, I was a big fan of Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson. They definitely inspired me to dance, and I have also always been amazed by their theatricality,” he says. “I fell in love with Gene Kelly’s style when I was a kid. He is the reason why I started dancing and tap dancing. I also played the cello since I was four, which led me to learn the piano and guitar, so music and dance have been a huge part of my life very early on. Working in musicals confirmed my love for storytelling and for tap dance, and the US was a great place for me to train as a performer. I wanted to use cinema as a symbolic topic. The show plays on a duality: for the main character, there is real life and there is what happens in the movies, and different aspects of his life are explored from both perspectives. I was really interested in bringing that on-and-off-screen idea to a show. It is also a way to pay homage to different films, as each scene takes inspiration from a different one.”
It’s always intriguing to hear how different choreographers approach the creative process and work their ideas through from initial idea to performance. We asked Borgeaud to take us step by step through how he connected dance and story together, especially tap, so we can understand how it was put together.
“For me, movement is part of the storytelling from the beginning. I first write the story, then the staging, then the music, and finally the choreography; but movement is always present in my mind throughout that process,” he explains. “I let the choreography grow naturally through each stage, so that by the time we reach rehearsal, it can flow organically from the narrative. Tap is especially powerful in this because it brings both movement and clear rhythm together on stage.”
He continues, “I began with the story. I wanted to create a world inspired by cinema, where (main character) Icarus’s real life, and the films he imagines could mirror each other. Then I developed the staging, the music and the choreography. The set was conceived as an active character, constantly transforming and dancing with the performers rather than simply framing them. Throughout the whole process, choreography developed alongside the story, helping each scene move naturally from one world to the next.”
Finding dancers for RB Dance Company is an on-going process, as regular auditions are held to seek new profiles to add something they may have been missing. “The company is made up of remarkable performers who bring their own life and energy to the work every night,” Borgeaud elaborates. “We go through the same audition process now with kids – as we have about 40 young dancers training with us during school vacations.”
Fantastic that young dancers are able to have this opportunity and to look up to this enthusiastic and ambitious company. What are the next steps for RB Dance Company?
“Our immediate ambition is to continue sharing Stories with new audiences, internationally,” Borgeaud says. “We are always amazed by how this show connects with people in different places. We are very excited to present Stories in the UK, Germany and Switzerland this Fall. We have also created a fully-formed musical called The Rise, which premiered at the Dôme de Paris in Spring 2026, with 10 sold-out shows in front of 30 000 people. This was an incredible experience and the result of years of work. We’re happy to announce that this English-speaking show will be back for 50 shows in the same venue starting on February 27, 2027!”
We look forward to it, and future creations and to finish our conversation, Borgeaud enthuses, “We are very much looking forward to meeting our British audience, whether it is with Stories in the UK, or with The Rise in Paris! We promise a very energetic and surprising experience in both cases…”
RB Dance Company will present STORIES – The Tap Dance Sensation from 14 – 31 October at the Peacock Theatre at Sadler’s Wells. For tickets and more information, visit www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/stories-the-tap-dance-sensation-2026.
By Louise Ryrie of Dance Informa.
