Linbury Theatre, Royal Ballet & Opera, London
June 29, 2025
Bursting with energy and verve, Katie Prince’s ZooNation Youth company swept onto the stage at the Linbury Theatre with an hour of continuous hip hop dancing and storytelling.
Choreographed by Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe and a new commission as part of Royal Ballet & Opera’s Next Generation Festival, Lights Out tells the rather grim futuristic story of a dance competition, where one by one the numbered competitors are eliminated. Literally. Until there is a single winner. Those eliminated dancers then come back as undead, reminiscent of the Ringwraiths in Lord of the Rings.
The competition’s challenges, set by a disembodied voice, are largely inspired by children’s games, although there is also a choreographic memory game. As things get increasingly difficult, the dance gets ever-more exciting and impressive.
Photo Johan Persson
The setting is some sort of barn, where the dancers have to live during the competition. It’s a clever and very effective device that avoids the need for any kind of set. The red boiler-suit costumes by Jasmine Cox match perfectly the futuristic setting, and elegantly highlight that the only difference between the dancers is their ability to dance, and to continue for hours without eating or sleeping. Lighting, Clancy Flynn, and music production, Sarah Victoria, serve the piece well.
However, it is the seventeen young dancers, including two who can’t be in their teens yet, all already hip-hop dancers of calibre, who sweep the audience away. They all deserve mentioning; Tyler Archer, Elena Arnese, Isobel Beney, Ines da Costa, Austyn Emmanuel, Tegan Ferguson, Liberty Greig, Maya Harris, Isabella Harry, Andrew Jackson, Isaac Muir, Lila Myers, Keiyana Ossei-Gerning, Harry Pepler, Oliver Stewart, Abe Taylor, Miles Wijeyeratne.
Photo Johan Persson
Eventually, it comes down to the last two: Andrew Jackson and Liberty Greig. Grieg, rather appropriately contestant zero, is especially fluid. Her technique and interpretation mark her out as a star in the making. But ZooNation Youth is quality across the board. With talent of this ilk, the future of hip-hop looks very exciting indeed.