Emerald Storm Review – A delirious dance in the bar room with shots of showmanship | Dance

IIn the best way possible, it feels like you’re on a cruise ship. We are in full entertainment mode. Co-created by actor, hooper and reality TV judge Adam Garcia, this Irish dancing and tap hybrid is a vivid embodiment of the small screen era. Initially, singer Tom Paul said phones and photography were welcome. This is Tom Ball, the big-haired, sweet-natured Britain’s Got Talent finalist, whose audition video has received 8.7 million views. He’s joined by Kiwi dancer Bailey Graham from America’s Got Talent, YouTube, Insta, etc. One of the songs is sea shanty that went viral on TikTok. You get the idea. Each number has powerful energy for a 30-second clip.

The setting feels vaguely as if we were all in a bar, and the dancers are dancing and doing friendly choreography, adding a commercial edge to the Irish straight step led by Lord of the Dance alum Olivia Graydon’s breakneck pace. A stranger comes from out of town, Billy Graham. A great tap dancer, loose and flexible in body, feet jumping over hot coals, he backs up those beats with charisma and megawatt showmanship. (Minor inconvenience: from some booths you can’t see the feet because of the lights.)

Emerald Storm is a cheese like Wicklow. But he’s not a satirist, so it’s hard to be cynical about the performers. There’s a great crew having a good time there and they really want us to have a good time too. Ball turns up the heat in the second half with a Bublé-style Beyoncé halo. Is it getting a bit excessive? certainly. But he delivers a tune.