Dancers from Ballet national de Marseille perform six pieces – from minimalist to hyper-realist – chosen by (LA)HORDE to celebrate the dance collective’s influences.
The programme includes two pieces by (LA)HORDE, hyper-realist dance theatre by Peeping Tom, the contemporary vision of Claude Brumachon and Benjamin Lamarche, the minimalism of Lucinda Childs, and a genre-clashing collaboration between Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud.
The choices pay homage to choreographers who have shaped LA(HORDE)’s perspective.
By bringing such diverse works together, (LA)HORDE, who have directed Ballet national de Marseille since 2019, also aims to challenge the notion of archives and heritage, considering the way in which pieces are appropriated or re-appropriated.
Grime Ballet – Dance Because You Can’t Talk to Animals by Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud draws on previous collaborations which used elements of ballet, Jamaican dancehall, krump, house and split and jump. Here their work is combined with the intensity of grime, the electronic music genre that emerged in east London in the early 2000s.
Weather is Sweet by (LA)HORDE is a new work in which the dancers embody self-love. They play with amorous narcissism, deconstruct amorous forms and celebrate the freedom of loving, of existing, of being deprived, of wearing yourself out looking, consuming, struggling to exist.
Oiwa by Peeping Tom is inspired by the Japanese legend of the same name. It’s a tale of desire, the forces at work in a couple’s relationship, and a ghost.
Concerto by Lucinda Childs features black-clad dancers moving against a grey background. It’s paired with Henryk Górecki’s music, whose nonlinear structures disrupt the minimalist lines of Childs’ choreography.
Les Indomptés by Claude Brumachon and Benjamin Lamarche has been performed hundreds of times all over the world. The pair stage this two-hander again for this programme, offering a blend of volcanic activity and sensuality, softness and brutality.
The 15-minute excerpt from Room With A View by (LA)HORDE is set to music by RONE. The piece expresses the legitimate anger felt by today’s generations as they seek to rally communities of celebration, and battle to make sense of it all.
Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, SE1 8XX. March 1st & 2nd 7.30pm; 3rd March 3pm.
Admission: £20 – £45.
Booking: www.southbankcentre.co.uk
