The vision to connect Company of Elders and ZooNation Youth Company originated pre-pandemic in Autumn 2019. At that time, it was decided that while the two companies were very different, they shared a common thread: the ability to tell great stories through movement. The Exchange proudly comes to the Elixir Festival stage 5 years after that initial conversation, with choreographer Chaldon Williams at the helm. Developed over 5 months, The Exchange is a piece influenced by hip hop culture and its fundamental tenant: Each One Teach One. This work reaches across generations, bodies and genre to explore evolving perspectives, celebrate individual stories, and create space for a communal blending of wisdom.

Afterwards, a live DJ will invite the audience to join the performers on stage for a shared social dance with intergenerational music inspired by the process of the piece. All ages, cultures and styles are welcome.

Choreographer Chaldon Williams
Creative Assistant Georgie Mziu
Lighting Design Clancy Flynn
Composer Dilyon Graham

Company of Elders Dancers
Amina Patel, Catriona Maccoll, Chris Havell, Dahlia Douglas, Isidora Joseph, Kate Marshall, Keiko Onishi, Margaret Gaskin, Monica Duck, Rachel Thompson, Roberto Ishii, Sara Harris, Stephen Rowe, Olímpia De Figeiredo, Terri Erdem, Jennifer James, Hisami Okamoto, Lois Davis, Bernadette Durso, Fred Manson, Judy Lipsey

ZooNation Youth Company Dancers
Abe Taylor, Isaac Muir, Keiyana Ossei-Gerning, Kingsley Campbell-Golding, Liberty Greig, Lila Myers, Mafalda Leal, Mariah Williams, Marley Quinlan-Gardner, Miles Wijeyeratne, Oliver Stewart, Sheldon Golding, Tyler Archer, Z O’David

Dive deeper into The Exchange and see the creative process in action with a digital photographic exhibition by Tom Bowen and bespoke documentary film by MonkeyFlip Media. Witness the beauty and transformative power of dance in uniting people across generations.

Photographic exhibition 
Documentary film

Company of Elders is Sadler’s Wells’ resident dance company for non-professional dancers aged 60+ from the local community. Each year since its establishment in 1989, the company commissions a renowned choreographer to make a new work for public performance, raising interest in dance for older people in the UK and abroad while also celebrating the unique contribution older adults make to our shared cultural landscape. Company of Elders dancers aspire to share the joy of lifelong creativity through their performances and encourage others by demonstrating that it’s never too late to start something new.

ZooNation Youth Company was founded in 2006 and is comprised of some of the best young performers in the UK.

As well as performing as part of the cast of West End show Into the Hoods, ZooNation Youth Company has performed in the Channel 4/BAFTA short film The Holloway Launderette (Channel 4/BAFTA/Big Dance), Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday Celebrations (worldwide broadcast) and BBC’s Blue Peter to name but a few.

ZooNation Youth Company performed Groove on Down the Road at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, where they are resident company, in the summers of 2013 and 2014. They have performed as guests at the Dance Proms, at the Royal Albert Hall and at Fresh at The Place. In the last year alone, members of the company have performed at Southbank Centre, Move It at Excel, GENFest at the Gulbenkian and the National Theatre’s River Stage.

In 2023 ZooNation Youth Company were invited back to the Royal Opera House’s Next Generation Festival with a brand new show Twice In Time.