ONE of the world's most celebrated contemporary dance companies returns to the Alhambra this month.

Nederlands Dans Theater 2, which last appeared at the theatre in 2012, is headquartered at The Hague in Holland. It is the junior division of Nederlands Dans Theatre which, since its foundation in 1959, has built a rich repertoire of more than 600 ballets.

The pioneering NDT2 branch focuses on dancers aged 18 - 23. Over a three year period, the company prepares 16 classically trained dancers from around the world. One of the objectives of NDT2 is to acquaint the dancers "with a lexicon of dance languages". Working with young and more established choreographers, the dancers perfect a range of styles and genres, becoming world-class performers.

Their vibrant mixed bills are complemented by visual art, innovative lighting, set and costume designs. The programme in Bradford consists of Schubert, Sad Case, Mutual Comfort, Solo and Cacti.

In 2015 Romanian choreographer Edward Clug made his NDT2 debut with mutual comfort. The choreography is detailed, sharply defined and at times features a twitchiness where the bodies flick and jerk so extremely and frequently that it can be interpreted as 'punctuation' of each beat.

Choreographer Hans van Manen created Solo for the company in 1997. The seven-minute, fast-paced ballet, set to Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin partita, is an athletic tour-de-force for three male dancers portraying a single man re-examining his place in the world. Since the choreography is

exceptionally fast requiring extraordinary timing, the ballet can only be performed by the dancers taking turns.

Van Manen, NDT’s former resident choreorgrapher, has created more than 120 ballets, 62 for NDT.

In 2010 Swedish-born choreographer Alexander Ekman created the international hit Cacti for NDT2. His new arrangement of Schubert’s Der Tod und das Mädchen was created with Het Balletorkest (formerly known as Holland Symphonia). In Cacti 16 dancers become the instruments of the orchestra, as Ekman challenges the audience to reflect on the way in which art is perceived.

First on the bill is Schubert, an emotional ballet conveying a love story between a man and a woman. The highly technical pas de deux premiered in 2014 and is danced to Schubert’s String quintet in C - Adagio.

Set to Mexican mambo music, Sad Case follows a continual search for the tension between satirical and classic moments.

* Nederlands Dans Theater 2 is at the Alhambra on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30. Call (01274) 432000.