Nederlands Dans Theater 2 – NDT2

I was a very lucky girl and got invited to watch NDT2 at the Nottingham Theatre Royal and WOW what a night!

NDT2 is part of the Dance Consortium and has just completed a UK Tour. NDT2 is the training company, that evolved from the original NDT. The company consists of 16 dancers up to the age of 23. This international team of dancers create a powerhouse of innovative dance.

The company was founded by Jiri Kylian, and is currently directed by Paul Lightfoot. I was fortunate enough to meet the Executive Artistic Director, Gerald Tibbs, who was wonderful to meet and in seconds you felt how much he loves the company and the work that he does.

The show was split into three sections with two intervals. The first piece was Sleepless, choreographed by Jiri Kylian. This piece involved a collection of white plastic screens that run diagonally across the stage, used as a door for entrances and exits. The dancers emerged from the screens and contoured their bodies in unusual ways, which were beautiful yet dark.

There was several other pieces that included a beautiful pas de deux, but the most spectacular part of the show was the last piece called Minus 16. This was an absolutely stunning and some of the innovative dance I have seen in a long time. All 16 dancers are on stage, dancing, acting and singing! Words can’t describe this piece so here is the best clip I could find:

Choreographed by Ohad Naharin and staged by Urtzi Aranburu. It shows musical influences of cha-cha, mambo and Israeli music. NDT2 use some very interesting and radical choreographers including the impressive Alexander Ekman. Another interesting fact is that the dancers are only allowed to stay in the company for 2-3 years, to ensure that dancers are progressing and to keep the dance and choreography fresh. I think this is definitely working.

Here is the tour video for more insight into the company and the tour:

I am so happy that I got to see this tour and can’t wait for them to tour again!

Here is the NDT2 website: http://bit.ly/HsaGAQ