A taste of Hip Hop as a vocabulary in its own right, and a reminder that the energy in dance is ageless
At one point in ZooNation Youth Company’s 1776, a dancer sits under interrogation by three aristocratic-looking rulers in long-tailed blue coats. He tries to articulate something hard to explain, ‘the pulse’: a raw impulse, deep from within, erupting before rational thinking steps in. This scene captures what free movement at its purest feels like, and it’s one of the moments that sums up the whole afternoon.
ZooNation’s Youth Company returns to the Linbury Theatre as part of the Royal Ballet and Opera’s Next Generation Festival – a platform to watch the next wave of dance talent. With an ensemble that at times fills the stage with close to two dozen performers, the double bill showcases ZooNation’s signature style of Hip Hop and narrative-driven movement.
Opening the afternoon is 1776, a collision of Hip Hop and Memphis Jookin. Featuring young dancers from Memphis, ZooNation Youth Company and Body Politic in Oxford, and co-created by Memphis Jookin’ pioneer Lil Buck and ZooNation’s Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe, the piece reimagines the late eighteenth century as a dystopian society where strict authorities suppress freestyle movement in favour of rigid control. Those who can still feel ‘the pulse’ come together for a face-off against the rulers to change the system.
Short voiceover sequences help introduce the world and, in that particularly compelling scene, give voice to a renegade attempting to explain ‘the pulse’ to those in power. It’s one of the strongest moments in the piece because it captures what ZooNation is all about: movement as narrative, with each phrase smoothly translated into gesture with great clarity and emotion.
The second part of the afternoon, Offline, follows a tech-addicted trio pushed to reconnect with the world around them when the internet suddenly vanishes, leaving laptops, music devices and video games useless.
Featuring dancers aged 11 – 21 and created by Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe and ZYC, the piece feels strikingly relevant nowadays, amid political concern over young people’s online lives and the proposals around age restrictions on social media.
Offline imagines unplugged experiences through an expansive display of movement, bodies sweeping across the stage as wind rushing through tree leaves, and performers radiating energy and genuine delight in physical expression. The soft palette of whites and pastels, with traces of chiffon in certain costumes, gives the whole thing an airy lightness that amplifies that feeling.
Both pieces are punctuated by fierce solos and duets in which dancers glide, twitch, and spin across the stage. What’s beautiful about this double bill is the glimpse it offers into different stages within a performer’s journey, and how each dancer brings a distinctive, very special flavour. While their techniques may be at different stages, each dancer’s strength, energy and talent is undeniable.
ZooNation treats dance forms as language in the same way scripted theatre uses dialogue. Steps become sentences, and rhythm becomes punctuation marks. There’s something invigorating about seeing Hip Hop dance fully dissected and embraced to communicate story, intention and emotion.
The sound design by Paul ‘Steady’ Steadman (co-composed with Reisz Amos for ‘1776’) emphasises the choreography’s texture. Whether it’s a wave-like arm extension, smooth Jooking footwork, or a sharp collective tremor, the music both breathes with the movement and pushes it forward. Meanwhile, the costumes (by Jasmine Cox in Offline) support the world-building without ever pulling focus from the moves.
Overall, this double bill offers a taste of Hip Hop as a vocabulary in its own right, and a reminder that the energy in dance is ageless.
ZooNation Youth Company: 1776 and Offline performed on 28th June at the RBO’s Linbury Theatre. Next Generation Festival runs until 4th July 2026.