Last week Dance Consortium was thrilled to be nominated for a UK Theatre Award for Achievement in Dance for ‘bringing back the exceptional dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater 2 for a UK tour.
Nederlands Dans Theater 2, 2016. Photo by Johan Persson
All at Dance Consortium, its members and NDT2 are delighted with the nomination and would like to take this opportunity to extend their well wishes to all nominees including Gary Clarke for ‘his vital, heartfelt and socially relevant dance-theatre production COAL’ and Northern Ballet for commissioning two striking new contemporary ballets: Jonathan Watkins’ 1984 and Cathy Marston’s Jane Eyre’.
Dance Consortium is delighted to be in fine dance company and wishes all nominees the very best of luck at the awards ceremony on 9th October.
We thought this would be a timely opportunity to reflect on some of the many comments NDT2 received during the Dance Consortium April/May 2016 tour- especially words that praised the ‘exceptional’ 18-strong dancer workforce of Nederlands Dans Theater 2.
Donald Hutera for The Times, said: “There’s at least one rock-solid reason why Nederlands Dans Theater 2 is so popular in the UK. Gathered from around the globe and spanning an age range of 18 to 23, the company’s 18 young dancers are without exception marvellously capable. Their utter confidence in stage presence and technique is amply evident in the mixed bill that finishes their latest, month-long UK tour.” He concluded “…each NDT2 dancer is a star.”
In Luke Jennings’ review for The Observer, he commented: “In terms of technical finish, this 18-strong ensemble is a dream team…The real pleasure of NDT2 is the dancers.”
He added: “All are good, the best are brilliant. Lau, who started his career in breakdance, is a performer of consummate virtuosity, with an elegantly cursive style and an openness of manner which is a joy to watch. Alice Godfrey, who appears in three of the evening’s six works, is another dancer who compels the gaze, her expansive arms and long, articulate leg line endowing the simplest move with beauty.”
Sunday Express’ Jeffery Taylor noted: “…infectiously enthusiastic dancers sparking the audience” and singled out the men in “Hans van Manen’s Solo, an exhilarating demonstration of the male dancer’s ability to mesmerise and excite.” Taylor added: “The superb dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater 2, a Holy Cow of modern dance.”
Neil Norman reviewed for The Stage and said: “NDT’s ‘baby’ company pulsates with joy and emotional electricity”; and Evening Standard’s Lyndsey Winship reported back to the readership: “You wouldn’t want to challenge the dancers of NDT2 to a game of Twister. Contortion is a matter of course for these bendy-bodied dancers who can send limbs in any direction. A group of awesome technicians aged 18 to 24, they are the junior arm of the long established Nederlands Dans Theater, but there’s nothing elementary about this outfit…impressive dancers, who always go all-out.”
Five star reviews appeared in Scotland’s national newspapers with The Scotsman’s Kelly Apter saying: “Every step, in every piece, was delivered with precision, passion, flair and skill by this remarkable crop of young dancers.”
Finally, Mary Brennan, dance writer and critic for The Herald in Scotland, summed up Dance Consortium’s NDT2 UK Tour 2016 with: “It is the stuff of dreams: bodies with the quirky angularity of anglepoise lamps and the matching ability to melt their bones from jittery shimmy-shakes into sinuous flexibility.”
On receiving the UK Theatre Awards nomination, Ros Robins, Dance Consortium’s Executive Director, said: “This is wonderful recognition for the Consortium, its members and Nederlands Dans Theater 2. We are thrilled dance is recognised in these national awards and wish all nominees continued success with their acknowledged works. With thanks to Arts Council England, Dance Consortium looks forward to presenting more world-class dance to audiences across the UK.”
See what NDT2 audiences had to say about the performance here:
