Cover “Room with a View” by (La)Horde (Photo: Cyril Moreau)
“Room with a View” by (La)Horde (Photo: Cyril Moreau)
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(La)Horde, which took part in the prestigious Dance Reflections festival supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, shares with Tatler how they translate current topics into performances
The rain was pouring, the wind was bone-chilling and the leaves of the trees had just begun to turn yellow; but the atmosphere inside NYU Skirball was anything but miserable as French dance collective (La)Horde rehearsed Room with a View, scheduled to be performed later that night as part of the inaugural Dance Reflections programme in New York.
The piece, created in partnership with French electronic musician Rone in 2020, had already earned its reputation for experimentation since its premiere. Featuring 25 dancers of 16 nationalities, Room with a View melds elements of violence, struggle and rebellion into a techno-party-like scene.
“We often forget that growing up is a violent process,” explains Marine Brutti, one of the three founders of the (La)Horde dance collective and its spokesperson. “Conforming to societal norms can be violent. Compromising our dreams can be violent. Our [creative] intention is not to rebel against the system but rather to serve as a reminder to approach rebellious souls with gentleness.”
Formed in 2013 by Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer and Arthur Harel, (La)Horde is no conventional challenge the hierarchical divisions within dance.
“Our work takes place across stage, cinema and the visual arts. [As a result,] our relationship with dance is unique,” says Brutti. Viewing dance as their subject and medium, the collective maintain a deliberate distance from it, creating a separation which, coupled with their knowledge that extends beyond the academic dance world, allows them to offer a “candid” perspective on the definition of dance.
“We intentionally nurture this perspective to avoid categorising different styles or practices of dance in a classist manner,” she adds. “We firmly believe in the power of dance today to be inclusive, where no style should be placed above another.”
Read more: Van Cleef & Arpels’ Julie Clody talks about the relationship between dance and jewellery
Above (La)Horde (Photo: Olivier Metzger)
Above Serge Laurent (Photo: Marc de Groo)
(La)Horde (Photo: Olivier Metzger)
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In 2019, the (La)Horde founders were appointed directors of France’s Ballet National de Marseille. And in 2022, they caught the attention of Serge Laurent, the director of Van Cleef & Arpels’ dance and culture programme. Having joined the storied maison in 2019, Laurent made Dance Reflections his primary initiative for spreading the essence of dance worldwide.
The festival first took place in London in 2020, then in Los Angeles in 2022 and Hong Kong in spring 2023, before last autumn’s run in New York. Although not explicitly stated, the programme has consistently embraced an experimental approach. (La)Horde was, therefore, a natural fit.
“Before the premiere [of Room with a View], there were talks about getting rid of the word ‘ballet’ in the programme to avoid confusion. And [(La)Horde] insisted that the word stay. The fact [is] that they are breaking boundaries, redefining what ballet can actually be, and opening up a lot of possibilities to create something new and exciting,” Laurent says.
He chose to open the New York City edition of Dance Reflections with Dance, a 1979 masterpiece featuring choreography by Lucinda Childs, music by Philip Glass and a film of the dancers in the original performance shot by conceptual artist Sol LeWitt.
“Lucinda is undoubtedly a pioneering figure who brought forth numerous experimental dance ideas to Europe,” says Laurent. “My intuition for the New York City edition led me to Lucinda.”
Above “Tempo Vicino” by Lucinda Childs (Photo: Lasseindra et Doherty)
“Tempo Vicino” by Lucinda Childs (Photo: Lasseindra et Doherty)
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Other contemporary artists involved in Dance Reflections included British Rwandan singer, actress, dancer and choreographer Dorothée Munyaneza, French choreographer Dimitri Chamblas and Franco Austrian artist, choreographer and director Gisèle Vienne. By featuring well-known pieces alongside avant-garde creations, Dance Reflections has become a medium for artistic transmission across generations of creators. For instance, when Brutti watched Lucinda’s Dance live for the very first time at Dance Reflections a day earlier, it completely changed her perspective on a piece she thought she knew inside out.
“I have only watched Dance on video,” she says. “I had a deep intellectual and aesthetic understanding of the piece. Yet witnessing it live yesterday was an entirely different experience. The sheer power and intensity of the dancers is something I was wholly unprepared for.”
It just so happens that when (La)Horde had been preparing for Dance Reflections, a second performance included interpretations of some of Childs’ structured choreography.
“It does make us reflect on what we’d planned originally,” says Brutti of the coincidental programming. “It became part of a bigger picture instead of an individual performance. Together, we form a continuous conversation, with an evolving dynamic and dialogue between the performances, ultimately creating a stronger impact.”
The piece that really got people talking was Age of Content, a recent work by (La)Horde, which explores the seemingly comparable dynamic of content on social media platforms like TikTok, where users continuously relay or respond to one another through video clips.
“You see the dance videos on TikTok and may think they are trashy. But what happens if we bring that dance on stage?” says Brutti. “They [TikTok users] copy, transform and rewrite, actively participating in the free circulation of movements online. We sensed this concept of a human chain, a virtual one, that connects individuals around the world, transcending time and space. The movement itself becomes the tangible embodiment of this idea, symbolising the circulation of information across the globe.”
Above “Room with a View” by (La)Horde (Photo: Cyril Moreau)
“Room with a View” by (La)Horde (Photo: Cyril Moreau)
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The approach comes as no surprise given (La)Horde’s recent track record, which has included everything from choreographing a video inspired by Singin’ in the Rain for Burberry and working with pop sensation Sam Smith on the music videos for I’m Not Here to Make Friends and Unholy to teaming up with director Spike Jonze on the short film Ghosts and serving as the artistic director of choreography for Madonna’s Celebration Tour—the pinnacle of pop culture. They are unafraid to blur genres and venture into unfamiliar territories.
While criticism from more conservative circles is inevitable, the collective is aware of the impact their collaborations can make. For one, it brings them to the attention of mass audiences outside the usual dance audience, generating curiosity that fuels their more experimental work.
“We are looking for momentum and movement, so the energy of collision is more than welcomed, if not [actively sought],” says Brutti. “Every time we went through this process with great artists like Madonna, Sam or Spike, it gave us the opportunity to widen our vision and our methods to create new ways to access our creativity.”
Ultimately, it is the collective’s desire to challenge stereotypes and shift perceptions that propels them.
“Our values and visions of dance have shaped our concept of movement. For us, contemporary dance is not a binary choice between ‘this or that’, but rather an inclusive embrace of ‘this and that, and those, and these, and them, and ...’ We are not especially interested only in the aesthetics, but more in the intentions and the values behind them,” Brutti explains.
While Dance Reflections concluded last December, having garnered praise from the New York dance community for reviving the experimental spirit of dance festivals, (La)Horde’s journey is taking flight. “Our dance is ever shapeshifting,” says Brutti, “but what we’ll always look for is to move the soul.”
