Words by Katie Hagan.
Known for creating eruptive, cool, and propulsive dance works, (LA)HORDE was formed back in 2013 by three friends Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer and Arthur Harel shortly after Marine and Jonathan met at art college, with Arthur studying dance at the time. Since 2013, the collective has collaborated with big names including Sam Smith, Madonna and Lucinda Childs, and in 2019 started their collective directorship of Ballet national de Marseille.
As I begin my conversation with (LA)HORDE in the rather plush setting of Royal Ballet & Opera’s restaurant ahead of the UK premiere of Age of Content at Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, we talk at length about the trio and how their heterarchy or collective artistic direction came into being. How does the collective artistic direction work in practice?
“It is very rooted in how we first connected,” say (LA)HORDE. “When we met, we were very young and shared this emotional currency of wanting to help one another do everything because we didn’t have any funding.”
“We continued to grow though and reached a point where we decided to create something bigger than us,” they continue. “But we needed a name so we, not too seriously, decided on (LA)HORDE but put the gendered ‘la’ in parentheses as it doesn’t reinforce gender binary but fluidity.”
(LA)HORDE came into being quite organically and generatively through a need to create space and help one another. Yet it doesn’t mean the collective doesn’t guide itself with the clearest of intentions. This is very obvious in the way that (LA)HORDE collaborate and the environment they nurture in the studio.
“Movement is a language in its own, but it’s also a language that has no teacher.”
“With the Ballet Marseille dancers, we always call them our collaborators. They are not just the interpreters that we project a vision onto. It’s really an exchange. As a collective, this approach is so important as the way we produce deeply influences the whole production and everyone involved.”
I expand on (LA)HORDE’s point to say that the way (LA)HORDE produce also influence the wider art form. No one can deny the impact (LA)HORDE have on the industry; their shows sell-out; they grace magazine covers; their movement styles and vocab are slipping into works created by the next generation of dancers.
Despite their influence and presence, their focus is rooted in art-making, as (LA)HORDE reinforce: “We are firm believers that being an artist is being part of a conversation, meaning that it’s not only between us as a collective. We know we’re part of a scene but that doesn’t mean that we’re scening. It means we know that things are happening. And a scene can be very wide. A scene is Lucinda Childs, but it’s also Sam Smith, or Madonna. It’s so many different people that are creating at the same time, and this provides a current in which we are all going through the same world and all have to reflect on it through art.”
However, (LA)HORDE isn’t this machine that’s at the end of the chain, proposing a specific aesthetic or style for all to follow. “For us it’s not about that at all; it’s really about the making – the bringing of a piece of art to life together.”
(LA)HORDE are so authentically passionate about art and dance: “Movement is a language in its own, but it’s also a language that has no teacher. What we love about dance is that it helps us navigate more into our gut feeling, our heart, our souls.”
It’s this passion that finds a way of feeding into (LA)HORDE’s ecosystem: from the dancers to subsequently your experience as an audience sharing the theatre space. From my personal experience of watching two pieces (Roommates and People used to die), the energy you feel is invigorating.
Sharing the theatre is a key focus for them. “We can use our show Roommates as an example as it highlights the theatre as a shared space that we are all inhabiting,” they say. “When creating and performing a piece, we don’t have to reflect on the whole world, because it would be impossible in a 1hr show. But we know that this space become a place to reflect on the many different visions of the world. And we can share this moment, as dancers, creatives and audiences.”
Next month, (LA)HORDE’s Age of Content will have its UK premiere. I ask them how this work came about and whether it explored similar topics to (LA)HORDE’s previous works, such as community, underground cultures and rave scenes.
“As a company, we’ve been working together for a while,” they say. “With Age of Content we were less driven by creating a fable, but we were ready to come in with questions about how we were feeling as dancers. What was giving us problems?”
“What are our avatars online and how do these affect our dance?”
“The studio became this wonderful space where we were really coming with all of our questions about the world,” they continue. “At one point the conversation went to talking about the video game Grand Theft Auto, and we were talking about how different characters move differently and what that might mean or signify. It brought up loads of questions about how this gesture translates or influences reality? What are our avatars online? How do we project ourselves into these medias and these platforms, and how does it affect our bodies? And how does it affect our dance?”
“In many ways, these are the questions that Age of Content asks and we wanted to explore these concerns that are shared by many.”
We share a similar concern that there has been a huge shift towards social media and online representation. They reflect on an interview they watched with Keanu Reeves who said that the next generation aren’t afraid of being in the matrix, whereas once upon a time in the 90s and early 00s it was a dystopia to be deeply feared. “I think we’re not even understanding the brutality of the online world,” say (LA)HORDE, sticking the pin in the issue. “As artists, we should be critical about this and keep pushing the conversation.”
We end our conversation on a slightly brighter note: the importance of dance. In such dire circumstances with cuts to arts funding happening across Europe, it felt poignant to chat with (LA)HORDE about this. “Dance is a living art where it’s embodied for a moment in time and space” she says. “As a collective started by three friends, we’re genuinely happy to share our experiences and struggles. Even though dance is an ephemeral art, it has the strongest, warmest community. We all care deeply for its form and are holding the fire together. And little by little, whenever we have energy, we blow on the embers to keep it alive.”
Age of Content directed by (LA)HORDE in collaboration with Ballet national de Marseille comes to Sadler’s Wells next month. Header image by Blandine Soulage.