The meta language of (LA)HORDE

We find the expressiveness, plasticity, and energy of the human body mesmerising. Choreographers and dancers assume almost priestly roles, opening mysterious doors that lead into the depths of human nature. Dance brings us back to our own physicality, connecting us with nature and to the sensation of freedom. It’s the yearning for that lost sense of freedom that resonates most deeply when watching LA(HORDE)’s exceptional performances. In this feature, a reflection on Age of Content, Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, and Arthur Harel invite us to join them on their journey across various artistic mediums. 

The historic bond between Ballet National de Marseille and Repetto Paris acted as something of a catalyst in the fashion shoot produced to accompany this story. Roland Petit, the son of Rose Repetto, founded and led Ballet National de Marseille for over 25 years. Since its early days, Repetto Paris has maintained a connection between craftsmanship, fashion, and dance, helping bring art into our everyday lives. The brand’s emblematic creations enrich the visual narrative of this story, underscoring the shared aspiration of the (LA)HORDE collective and Repetto Paris: to continually redefine the standards of modern choreography. Poetry, fashion, stage design, and new technologies seamlessly intertwine in their exceptional storytelling, blurring the boundaries between dance and life. 

hube: Choreography is frequently likened to poetry, as both share elements such as rhythm, abstract imagery, emotion, and a sense of freedom. What do you think of this comparison?

MARINE BRUTTI: It’s a fascinating comparison. The three of us have a very polymorphic vision of what it is to be an artist. Sometimes, we compare ourselves to poets, and find similarities in our ways of enchanting the world. Comparing poetry and what we do is really interesting. It may be the same thing but reversed because, in poetry, you use words to create images, emotions, and so on, and in dance, it’s the opposite. We use everything but words, but what we do is a form of poetry as well. Of course, we are stage directors and choreographers, but we’re artists as well because we do installations, we do videos, we do sculptures. The world needs more poets, and we are very happy to be among them.

JONATHAN DEBROUWER: Poetry can be interpreted in many different ways, and it’s the same with dance. Dance is not only one image but a variety of images. We see the same in poetry. We want our dance to be filled with emotion. Whichever image we create, we think, first and foremost, about the emotions it carries, and if it doesn’t carry emotions, then it is no good for us. I think poetry is the same. If poetry doesn’t carry emotions, I don’t think it’s real poetry. 

MB: Pina Bausch once said: “I’m not interested in how people move, but in what moves them.” Emotion in motion is at the core of what we’re looking for and what we’re feeling. 

JD: We are, sort of, in the lineage of people like Romeo Castellucci, who says that he creates a theatre of images—so when we create images and movements, when we are trying to turn them into chapters in our story, we tend to build emotional bridges between the dancers, between us and the dancers, and between our creation and the audience.

MB: It is super important for us to build these bridges to completely understand what we feel and think—and not only on an emotional level. Reasoning, political opinions, and philosophical questions create intellectual and emotional motion that translates into the moving body. When we try to explain what emotions are for a dancer, we say that they are like the anchors of the body. Dancers use their bodies to express their thoughts and feelings, and we believe that nowadays, it’s especially important to see and understand the link between choreography and poetry. You can call it poetry, you can call it anything you want, but—getting back to your question—yes, you can refer to our works as ‘poetry’ and to call our fellow artists poets.

ARTHUR HAREL: Poetry is a declaration of emotions, but full of sense. It’s something that gives us a different perspective with a new, organic understanding of emotions and life in the world of capitalism and with all the dramatic situations we have to encounter today. We think a lot about poetry because it is not all beauty and sweetness. It can be super powerful.

h: Many of your viewers engage with your work through their smartphones and computers. This creates a very different kind of interaction with art, that uses new rules of perception and dialogue. Does this affect your art in any way?

AH: Because of what we do and how we use different mediums, we are very aware of the influence that context and location have on our art. For example, when we publish our work on social media, we carefully consider n all the ways in which our content can be viewed. 

MB: When we were students, we witnessed the rise of platforms like YouTube, where anybody could display very long videos. Suddenly, the audience became creators by sharing their vision of the world. Many of them had to learn that when they shared their content, they would inevitably receive feedback from their viewers, like all artists do. We never felt limited by different platforms; on the contrary, we always wanted to maximise their use and to display content that would never be displayed elsewhere. 

AH: When we are on stage, we perform, but when we share content online, we can focus on details of the dancers’ bodies, we can show them from different angles, we can really share our vision of the show with the audience. We see it as a bonus and a plus rather than as a threat to our art. Of course, we all understand that in today’s world, these platforms are not as free as they used to be, and that serendipity is not real anymore. We are very much controlled by algorithms and the content that targets current trends in politics, markets, public interest, etc. When we go online today, it’s not about being able to find anything, we know we won’t encounter true surprises, we know that we’re going to get similar kind of content pushed in our faces. And that’s why we believe it’s imperative for artists not to let go of these mediums. We must resist and show something different. We must occupy virtual space with something that, to us, feels relevant, that puts people’s minds in motion and creates a vision that encourages critical thinking, not just mindless consumption of bright images and simple words and statements.

JD: The internet doesn’t have borders. Everyone, regardless of their social status or location, can use it. Today, people who previously had no way to visit museums and theatres can see them with the help of the internet. So, for us, the main question is not about accessibility, but about people’s desire for accessibility.

MB: It is also empowering because with it, we are not looking to gatekeep the status of artist just for ourselves. We are institutional artists. We were raised on existing structures and went through conservatories and art schools. Early in our careers, we were directors of institutions, so we’re very aware of the position that we have in the world, but we have to strive to share this status by igniting the artist within each one of us. We have to abolish the elitist idea that art is only supposed to happen in certain spaces. Art can happen everywhere. 

A famous French television and radio director, Jean-Christophe Averty, was a true believer in the importance of television. He thought that we should take it seriously and use it to show as much art as possible. In the ’80s and early ’90s, he was making excellent programs, that allowed us, the children of MTV, to watch videos by Chris Cunningham, Spike Jonze, and many other talented directors who were able to express themselves in very new forms through music videos. Today, with the internet and all these new types of media, we can do the same using new space to demonstrate a lot of important material and not just easy-to-follow content. 

h: Costumes are essential to your art because they help shape the external image of each dancer while revealing their character’s inner world. What is your relationship with fashion in work and in life? 

MB: For a very long time, costumes have been the most challenging thing for us to create. Clothes are a vessel: they can tell stories; they can talk about social issues. We focus on movement and frame it, using our setup and decor. When you put costumes on, they become strong social markers that reflect the intention and projection of what the dancers are going through. Finding and making costumes that fit the stories we were telling was always a very long process. Eventually, we gained experience, and the more experience we got, the earlier we were able to start working on the costumes’ silhouettes, which significantly impacted the perception of dancers’ movements. We found a collaborator in Salomé Poloudenny. She follows our work and understands what we need to show, the structure of our creations, and what we want to express. We are also very close with the designers among our friends. We literally grew up with some of them, and it makes our collaborations even more interesting. Among them, for example, is Glenn Martens, the creative director of Y/Project who is also at DIESEL. He worked with us on Age of Content (2023) and Marry Me in Bassiani (2019). We are also very close with Nicolas Di Felice, the head designer for Courreges. 

AH: It is fascinating to be in contact with people who are thinking outside the box. It helps us understand how to introduce a contemporary vision on stage—not as a fashion statement, but as a piece of the reality that we are trying to create. In Room with a View (2020), which is about patriarchy, climate change, and the collapse of social order, we worked with very different elements. For example, we only wanted to use upcycled clothes. Working on the costumes for every single project, we find references that are both interesting and make the most sense. As Jonathan and Arthur were saying, it’s never superficial, everything has to have a meaning, and a costume becomes the final layer that brings a dancer into character. 

JD: We have to think like movie directors here. When you look at a movie by Wes Anderson, you can clearly see its unique aspects, which are very different from those in movies by Christopher Nolan, PT Anderson, or Sofia Coppola. Each of them comes with a unique style of costume, it’s a part of creating a complete world that makes sense. It’s the same for us, and it is also like poetry, for it has nothing to do with being pretty and superficial, it brings meaning and enhances the audience’s experience of a show.