Nederlands Dans Theater 2 was founded in 1978. In its more than 30 years of existence, it has developed into a top quality, internationally recognized company performing in theaters all over the world including Spain, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Turkey, USA, France, Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the Dutch Antilles.
Nederlands Dans Theater 2 consists of 16 dancers between the age of 17 and 23, all of whom completed a classical ballet training. Dancers are recruited from all over the world.
The initial aim with Nederlands Dans Theater 2 was to ‘feed’ the main company (Nederlands Dans Theater 1) with its young dancers. It served as a bridge-period to mature the freshly graduated dancers from the various classical conservatories and schools and prepare them for a professional dance career.
Today over 70% of the dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater 1 started their career in Nederlands Dans Theater 2.The repertoire of Nederlands Dans Theater 2 is quite varied working with established choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Hans van Manen, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot/Sol León and Johan Inger, but also more importantly working with young and upcoming choreographers.
Over the past few years Nederlands Dans Theater 2 has developed into a company of today. Working closely with young choreographers and confronted by different choreographic styles and techniques has given these young dancers the opportunity to react closely to contemporary developments in music and art. These talented young dancers are able to mirror the realities of today and incorporate these elements into new productions as a kind of Zeitgeist of the 21st century.
Nederlands Dans Theater 2 especially aims to interest and excite young audiences for today’s dance.
Gerald Tibbs: Executive Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans Theater
Gerald Tibbs was born in Richmond, Virginia. At the age of 19, he attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he enrolled in the drama department. Soon thereafter, he switched to the dance department and a year later he joined the North Carolina School Company. He danced with them for a period of two years. Then he went to New York for further training with David Howard. In 1975, he joined the Nederlands Dans Theater and has danced with Nederland Dans Theater for the last 15 years, working with such significant choreographers as Jiří Kylián, Hans van Manen, Glenn Tetley, Ohad Naharin, Christopher Bruce and Nacho Duato. In 1990, Gerald Tibbs took over Arlette van Boven’s position as director of the Nederlands Dans Theater 2 company.
Nederlands Dans Theater
Under the dynamic leadership of Artistic Director Anders Hellström Nederlands Dans Theater is among the most prominent and innovative contemporary dance companies worldwide. The Company is much praised for its own repertoire works by house choreographers Jiří Kylián and Lightfoot León.
Nederlands Dans Theater’s dancers display virtuosity and unparalleled expression while performing a challenging repertoire. But Nederlands Dans Theater also performs new creations by established choreographers and upcoming talent from inside and outside the company. Nederlands Dans Theater comprises two ensembles representing two generations of dancers: from budding talents starting their career in Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (17-23 years of age) to their full bloom in Nederlands Dans Theater 1 (23 years up).
The Company contributes to various art forms by involving visual art, music composition, light and set designs while developing new choreographic talent. In Lucent Danstheater in The Hague (Holland) all of these talents come together daily in surroundings that are also regarded as an important breeding ground, constantly moving ahead to let the future of dance take shape. The Company inspires and engages audiences worldwide.