Preview: Scottish Dance Theatre's silver jubilee celebrations blend nostalgia and cutting-edge choreography

For a company so progressive, Scottish Dance Theatre (SDT) is doing a pretty good job of looking back. Currently adorning the walls of Dundee Rep Theatre is a moving testament to just how much the company has achieved – an exhibition documenting 25 years of successful creation, performance, touring and local engagement.

Seeing the faces of dancers who have passed through the company and gone on to create work of their own, we're reminded of what a fertile breeding ground it is.

"There are some lovely stories about what happens to dancers after working here," says artistic director Janet Smith.

"And, rather than resurrect old work in order to celebrate our 25th year, we're doing this exhibition to look back and say that it's the people that are really important – that's the wealth of a dance company. And if we can be feeding dance-makers, they're going to ripple out with what they do and have an impact globally."

That global element is also apparent in the exhibition. Prior to Smith's arrival in 1997, SDT had never ventured beyond British soil, yet now it proudly displays posters from visits to Greece and China – and a wonderful shot of Liv Lorent's breathtaking Luxuria (an undisputed highlight of the company's 25-year history) set against an equally breathtaking backdrop of the mountains of Milan.

"There's now a big awareness of our work in the international arena which is measured by dancers all over the world applying to come and work here," says Smith.

"There's also interest in us performing in Brazil next year, and to go back to China, Italy and Holland where we've already toured successfully – all of these things are in the pipeline."

Despite having performed in front of 1,500 people at Peking University, according to Smith the dancers are equally happy in a tiny village hall in rural Scotland.

"The dancers thrive on that international reach and performing on a big stage with the best facilities," she says.

"But they also love to feel in connection with an audience. In places like Banchory and Skye, 60 people is a full house, and if you're up close it makes the audience relationship intimate and the feedback immediate. That's where you hone your skills as a performer."

In the coming months, the company will perform at the heart of London's contemporary dance scene, The Place, at a theatre in Oldenburg, Germany, and Mull Theatre in Tobermory to name but three.

How does Smith plan for such a diverse audience when commissioning new works? "We consider our audience, but my way round has always been to ask, what would our dancers like?" she says. "Because I see them as the axis point, they sell the work, so what would stimulate them? Then there's everything else you can provide to make the work accessible – workshops, pre and post-show talks. But if I start from the point of view of 'what does the audience want?', I'm immediately lost, because they aren't anybody – they're everybody, and that's too much."

For the upcoming spring tour, Smith has brought the international arena to Dundee, in the form of two choreographers from the United States. Entitled Letters From America, the programme features two diverse works, by San Francisco-based Ben Levy, and Kate Weare from New York.

"It's a chance for us to look at the kind of voices coming out of America," says Smith. "They're very contrasting choreographers, and I was curious about bringing them together in a programme. Ben's from the west coast and there's a kind of a lyricism in his movement, and Kate's work has a visceral, sharp-edged, driven quality – somehow it has the streets of New York in it for me."

Watching Weare in rehearsal, it's easy to see what Smith means. A confident strength abounds in her choreography, mixed with very human emotion and desire. It's a combination the dancers have clearly embraced, but initially struggled with. "Scottish Dance Theatre is a very youthful company," says Weare. "And coming from New York they seem very innocent to me – but in a wonderful, fresh way. I think what I was asking for was quite foreign to them because, even though my father is English, I'm very American."

That said, working with the Dundee company has brought about an unexpected change in Weare, too. "I come from California but I've lived in New York for 12 years and it's had a big influence on my work," she says. "It's definitely made its mark and I'm just a little bit more macho. But I think, in a funny way, this company is having a softening effect on me."

• Scottish Dance Theatre's spring tour opens at Dundee Rep Theatre on Wednesday. For full tour dates, visit www.scottishdancetheatre.com