The junior company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey 2’s performers may be younger and lack the experience of the dancers in the parent company but their show at Birmingham Hippodrome leaves little doubt of their talent.

And they don’t get off lightly. The programme of four works and excerpts which features both heritage productions and more recent pieces, is challenging and demands a great deal from the 12 dancers in terms of strength, agility, balance and timing.

The evening begins with an excerpt from William Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure in which dancers move in and out of shadow and bright illumination – their bodies highlighted against a dark background. The physicality of the piece as they move both rapidly but also sometimes incredibly slowly in and out of light to a percussive and electronic beat by Thom Willems is both thrilling and exhilarating.

Ailey 2’s artistic director Francesca Harper worked for many years with Forsythe and his influence is evident in the excerpt from her work Freedom Series. Created in 2021, Freedom Series is Harper’s response to returning to the Ailey fold – where she initially trained.

The dancing is as eclectic as the music which features JS Bach, Jon Hopkins and Sampha – taking us from high energy jumps to reflective and even tender moments. With dancers holding glowing globes, the contrast of light and dark is both stark and comforting.

AAADT artistic director Robert Battle is also represented as four male dances take on his 2001 work The Hunt. Set to a clashing percussion soundtrack by Les Tambours du Bronx the piece is crashing in its physicality which is both primitive and predatory.

There is a sense of menace as the four men square up to each other in a testosterone-driven show of strength. And yet there are also moments when the four combine, working together to create a harmony, reminding us that even hunters form a pack.

The programme finishes with AAADT’s signature work Revelations, which concludes each performance by the company. Created by Alvin Ailey in 1960, Revelations remains hugely relevant – and hugely entertaining.

Set to a series of African-American spirituals and Gospel songs, the work draws on the heritage and culture of Africans in America and of Ailey himself. There are moments of intense pain in tracks such as I Been ‘Buked and Fix Me Jesus, protests and questions in songs like Didn’t My Lord Deliver but also escapism and joy in Wade in the Water and Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.

Presented by Dance Consortium, a group of UK and Ireland theatres dedicated to bringing the best of international dance to venues, Hippodrome audiences have long been treated to performances from AAADT and this programme gives them the opportunity to see the dance stars of the future.

The performance also included a curtain-raiser from 20 young local dancers who have been working with choreographer and former Ailey dancer Marcus J Willis. Forming part of a learning and participation project involving Ailey 2, Dance Consortium and Birmingham Hippodrome, the piece, Reception, saw the stage filled with energetic and enthusiastic dancers aged between 14 and 21.

Aiming to celebrate both their individual talents and the ability to work together, Reception looks at the idea of welcome and stepping forwards into new spaces – a reference to the fact many of these young dancers will hopefully have promising stage careers ahead of them.

Four stars

Reviewed by Diane Parkes at the BIrmingham Hippodrome, Wednesday 04 October.