Hip-Hop Dance with ZooNation

Our Year 9 dancers who have selected GCSE Dance as an option from September were lucky enough to receive professional input from a hip-hop expert, Elijah Smith from ZooNation, on Friday 23^rd May. Beth Butler, Head of Dance, is planning a hip-hop piece for their first GCSE project in Year 10 and is excited that her dancers will have had this experience prior to the Autumn term.

Beth enthused, “We went to see ZooNation perform ‘Message in a Bottle’ about three years ago. Our students loved it then, although I don’t think these girls were on the trip, but it was so good. The girls here today have worked really hard in Year 9, so some of it was me trying to support the styles that I know they’re interested in. I did a course online in January with ZooNation and I’ve learnt some movements, so it’s given me an idea for the first piece they’re going to do at the start of Year 10, so I can teach some of the GCCE content through it, in ZooNation style. I wanted them to come and have this experience without any other year group being involved, because in my head I’ve got my piece ready, so I just wanted them to do this with a professional, because I’m not a hip-hopper!”

Elijah outlined his favourite thing about dance for the group, saying “It’s the interaction I’ve got with people, so I’ve got to meet a lot of people and made a lot of friends. I think that’s what brought me into dance, and that’s what keeps me in dance today. Obviously it’s a profession, but I think being able to find the love and joy in what you do is supreme above everything, in my opinion. But as well as that, your own freedom of expression. Even though I’m talking a lot now, I’m not necessarily the biggest talker, so I get to express my own voice artistically through dance, whether that’s a great day or a bad day, or if I just feel like I just want to move, but I have nothing to say, I can just express that through dance.” Elijah went on to offer advice for students starting their GCSE Dance in September: “I think as long as you know in yourself what you’re doing, you love it, and you’re going to work hard on it in your own time, it doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you’re taking the lessons that your teachers are giving you, and you’re executing it in your own time, and you’re self-assessing it as much as you can. if you guys want to learn, you will continue to push yourselves even when the teacher isn’t there, because I’m only here for like an hour or two, you have the rest of your lives to focus on what you need to do.”

ZooNation was founded by Kate Prince in 2002 and is best known for its work in the theatre, creating full length narrative dance productions strongly influenced by hip hop culture and music. Their performance work is complemented by an extensive programme of engagement and talent development, working with different communities and young artists to increase their skills, knowledge and confidence in different styles of dance theatre.

The work created on Friday will contribute to the ‘Let’s Dance’ annual showcase in June which has grown successively year on year and will include 42 pieces and an interval this summer. We’re looking forward to seeing the dancers in action!