Dance Consortium presents

Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT) – NDT 2

in a virtuosic triple bill with two UK and Ireland premieres

Nine-venue tour of UK and Ireland will visit Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Friday 25 & Saturday 26 February

With their winning combination of fresh exuberance and astonishing athleticism, the 18 outstanding young dancers of NDT 2, the second company of Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), are back in the UK and Ireland for the first time since 2016 with a triple bill by German, Dutch and Swedish choreographers. One of the original ‘second companies’, set up in 1978, NDT 2 is now recognised as a major contemporary dance company in its own right.

For its highly-anticipated return to the UK and Ireland, NDT 2 will perform works by celebrated international choreographers Marco Goecke (Germany), Hans van Manen (The Netherlands) and Johan Inger (Sweden).  The company will perform at the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 February.

Associate choreographer at Nederlands Dans Theater since 2013, Marco Goecke has made his fourth work for NDT 2, The Big Crying, which has its UK and Ireland premiere on this tour. One of his most beautiful works, it is a personal and moving piece about the fragility of life and love where Goecke harnesses the fiery power of the full company to deliver a real celebration of life. The Big Crying is set to a series of songs by Tori Amos.

Dutch maestro Hans van Manen has been involved with NDT since it was founded in 1959, first as a dancer, then choreographer, then artistic director from 1961 until 1970. His exquisite quartet, Simple Things, created for NDT 2 in 2001, is a master class in simplicity and has been described as ‘pure dance art’. The score features Haydn’s Piano Trio No 28 in E major as well as modern compositions for piano and accordion.

A former dancer with the Swedish Royal Ballet, Johan Inger has created many works for both NDT and NDT 2. His 2020 piece for NDT 2, is the programme’s second UK and Ireland premiere. The uplifting and unpredictable IMPASSE bursts onto the stage to the joyful music of French-Lebanese jazz trumpeter and composer, Ibrahim Maalouf. In a bloodcurdling and sometimes funny finale to the programme, Inger celebrates the strength of togetherness over isolation in our world today.

Ros Robins, Dance Consortium’s Executive Director, says: “‘The members of Dance Consortium are delighted to welcome the NDT 2 company back to the UK and Ireland after too long an absence.  We would also like to welcome their new Artistic Director Emily Molnar, previously Director of Ballet BC which made such a successful tour of the UK in 2018.  NDT 2 will present a particularly strong programme of new and existing work, high in emotion and sheer entertainment.”

NDT 2

Royal Concert Hall Nottingham

Friday 25 – Saturday 26 February 2022 7.30pm

£22 – £34 plus discounts for Royal Members*, Under 26s, Students, Schools, and Groups

www.trch.co.uk Box Office 0115 989 5555

*Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham Royal Membership scheme offers benefits including ticket discounts and exclusive pre-sales.  For more information please visit www.trch.co.uk/membership

1. Dance Consortium is a group of 18 large-scale UK and Irish venues with a shared passion for engaging people with the best contemporary dance from across the world. Since its formation in 2000, Dance Consortium has presented over 46 tours by 26 different companies (from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, The Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Israel and the USA) to over 700,000 people.  Their performances and education activities have been experienced by around 700,000 people across all parts of the UK as well as Dublin, Ireland. Dance Consortium receives investment as a national portfolio organisation of Arts Council England.
2. Dance Consortium members are Grand Opera House Belfast; Birmingham Hippodrome; Alhambra Theatre Bradford; Brighton Dome; Marlowe Theatre Canterbury; Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff; Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; Festival Theatre Edinburgh; Eden Court Inverness; Sadler’s Wells Theatre and The Peacock London; Milton Keynes Theatre; Theatre Royal Newcastle; Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham with Dance 4; Theatre Royal Plymouth; The Lowry Salford; The Mayflower, Southampton; Hull, New Theatre; Norwich Theatre Royal.  
3. NDT 2 was set up in 1978 by Nederlands Dans Theater under the inspiring leadership of Jiří Kylián, initially as a talent development programme for the main company. Since then, NDT 2 has developed into an independent company with its own distinctive repertoire and extensive national and international touring schedule. Over a three-year period, 16 classically-trained dancers, aged 18 to 23, learn and perform a varied repertoire with the company’s collaboration with many upcoming choreographers giving the young dancers the opportunity to assimilate different dance languages, techniques and working methods. From their home base in The Hague, both companies work continuously to make a significant contribution to the future of contemporary dance, both in the Netherlands and beyond. www.ndt.nl