Press Release: Sadler's Wells - ZooNation: Unplugged 24-25 September 2013

[Jan McNulty]

ZooNation
ZooNation: Unplugged
Tuesday 24 & Wednesday 25 September
UK PREMIERE
Performances at 7.30pm                                                               
Tickets: £12 - £28
Ticket office: 0844 412 4000 www.sadlerswells.com

ZooNation – the team behind the critically lauded, award-winning shows Into the Hoods, Some Like It Hip Hop and Groove on Down the Road – presents an evening of live acoustic music and breathtaking dance at Sadler’s Wells on 24 and 25 September 2013.

The show is unlike anything the critically acclaimed hip hop dance company has presented before, with an emphasis on exploring the relationship between musician and dancer in a pared down, intimate production.

Company members Lizzie Gough, Carrie-Ann Ingrouille and Sarah Richards - best known for their roles in Some Like it Hip Hop - will lead the show, along with Rowen Hawkins (Into the Hoods), Gavin Vincent (Soul Mavericks) and Liam Francis (Into the Hoods). They will be joined by members of ZooNation Youth Company, performing extracts from the team’s recent hit Groove On Down The Road, and other pieces.

Guest dancers Andry Oporia (Some Like it Hip Hop), Turbo (Got to Dance) and National Dance Award winner Tommy Franzen (Some Like it Hip Hop), will also make special appearances.

ZooNation: Unplugged features live music, with arrangements of existing tracks and new music by DJ Walde (Some Like it Hip Hop). DJ is joined in the band by co-writer Josh Cohen, and Matt Smith, with vocal artists including Vula Malinga (Basement Jaxx) and acoustic guitarist Tom Baxter among the line-up.

The show is directed by the company’s founder and Artistic Director Kate Prince, a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist, and offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience hip hop music and dance stripped bare of the bling. Expect ZooNation's trademark comedic style and plenty of heart as they shuffle their iPods to select a journey through the past 60 years of music.