History of ZooNation

ZooNation Dance Company was founded in London in 2002 by director and choreographer, Kate Prince.  ZooNation’s first production, BoxBeat, was performed at the Lilian Baylis Theatre in 2002.  Within eight years ZooNation became a Resident Company at Sadler’s Wells and Kate Prince became an Associate Artist. 

The early days of the company included performances at The Place for Resolution and Fresh, at Stratford Circus for Avant Garde’s Collabo, at Leicester Square Hippodrome for Carnival The Choreographer’s Ball, and most significantly at Sadler’s Wells Breakin Convention.  When the very first Breakin Convention was commissioned in 2004, Kate Prince’s mother heard Alistair Spalding, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells, being interviewed about it on Radio 4. This prompted Kate to write a letter to him asking for ZooNation to be put on the bill. 2004 was the beginning of ZooNation’s relationship with Sadler’s Wells who were instrumental in encouraging them to develop a full-length piece of work.  After gaining a coveted position at The Place’s Hothouse course in 2005, ZooNation was able to develop the idea for its first full length show, Into the Hoods. 

Sadler’s Wells commissioned Into the Hoods and it was performed for the first time at the Peacock Theatre in February 2006.  The two performances were so warmly received that Sadler’s Wells invited ZooNation to further develop the show and bring it back for a full week in the summer of the same year.  Following this run and after a sell-out five-star award-winning season at the Edinburgh Fringe, the production was licensed to Phil McIntyre Entertainment who produced the show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007 and for its opening on the West End stage in 2008.

Into the Hoods became both the first ever Hip Hop dance show in the West End and the longest running dance show in the West End’s history, with a five month run at the Novello Theatre.  The cast of Into the Hoods won the 2009 What’s On Stage Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best Ensemble Performance, and Kate Prince was nominated for the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.  In 2008 the cast of Into the Hoods were invited to create a special performance for Nelson Mandela’s 90^th Birthday Celebrations in Hyde Park.  In 2009 and 2010, The South Bank Centre staged two successful revivals of Into the Hoods, firstly with a sell-out 3 week Christmas run in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, followed by a summer season in the Royal Festival Hall. 

ZooNation has performed at some of the most high profile sporting events in recent years, including the 2008 Official Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 2007 Opening Ceremony of the Tour de France, the 2005 Olympic Launch and the 2004 Official Olympic Celebration, in Trafalgar Square. 

Since 2007 the company has been developed and managed by Chantal Spiteri, who has taken it from strength to strength and who is also responsible for opening and growing the ZooNation Academy of Dance (ZAD), which currently trains over 150 students aged from 4 to 21 years.