A palpable buzz of anticipation surged through a capacity audience at Northern Ballet’s Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre for the return of the company’s latest sell-out series of Three Short Ballets.

Two of them world premiéres, the third a northern premiére. These ‘bite-size ballets’ to quote the company blurb, through deeply moving and often thrilling narrative dance, delve into human emotions that we can all relate to.

Black stage curtains parted to reveal a changing ochre sky as the backdrop to Four Last Songs, exquisitely choreographed in 1977 by Rudi Van Dantzig to a recording of the autumnal Songs by Richard Strauss.

The pairs of dancers (one for each song) were Saeka Shirai and Harris Beatie; Dominique Larose and George Liang; Sarah Chun and Jonathan Hanks; Amber Lewis and Jackson Dwyer with Bruno Serraclara as the Angel. The burnished sky colours intensify for the final Song, At Sunset. The poet asks: ‘Could this perhaps be Death?’

In joyous contrast, Kristen McNally’s Victory Dance celebrates with energetic foot tapping music and bold choreography.

Guest artist Joseph Powell-Main is a disabled dancer who uses wheelchair and crutches at amazing speed. He joined Northern Ballet dancers Kevin Poeung and Yu Wakizuka in this short work.

After the interval and at 45 minutes, the longest of the three shorts, Fools, choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Mthuthuzeli November. Fools is a compelling reimagining of RL Peteni's novel, Hill of Fools, a South African tale of star-crossed lovers.

Steamy passions reach boiling point as an ancient feud between rival villagers Thembu’s and Hliubi’s comes to a head against torrid heat and thundering music.

November's trademark blend of dance styles incorporates a daringly staged baseball bat fight between the warring sides.

A cast of 15 dancers includes Harris Beattie, Aerys Merrill and Albert Golzález Orts on the Thembu side. Sarah Chun, Antoni Cañellas Artigues and Filippo Di Villo lead the Hlubis.

Fools was the climax to an exhilarating evening of spectacular dance greeted by an ecstatic audience.

Three Short Ballets continue until September 14 at the Northern Ballet Centre in Leeds until Saturday, September 14, before touring to the Linbury Theatre at London’s Royal Opera House.

Leeds is the only city outside London to have resident opera, ballet, dance and theatre companies.