Rambert X (LA)HORDE: Bring Your Own

 

Rambert X (LA)HORDE: Bring Your Own

Until Thursday at Lowry, Salford

I’ve long been a fan of Rambert – since its inception - when it was known as Ballet Rambert. However, I was intrigued why, in this new production, we have the addition of an X after its name. The implication is, as in cinema,  it’s X rated. After seeing the performance at The Lowry, all is made clear and I was right. 

In collaboration with La Horde this combined programme, entitled Bring Your Own, is described as Dance for the millenniums. Perhaps that’s intended to imply there’s a sexual element in this dance form and there was plenty to illustrate that fact. Because of the sexual content my advice is that this production is suitable for a fifteen plus age group. 

The combination of Rambert and the radical French collective (LA)HORDE provides an interesting although bizarre triple bill. Costumed in street wear, the dancers display various elements of Dance featuring three works with the central subject of sex.

This brand-new commission, “Bring Your Own”  challenges with a new piece. Hop(e)storm, which has been specially created for Rambert dancers, channels the rhythms, energy and spirit of Lindy Hop. The re-staging of (LA)HORDE'S most iconic pieces,  Weather is Sweet and Room with a View, are strictly adult entertainment. Inspired by the LA club scene, Weather is Sweet catapults audiences into questions over intimacy, consent and sex-positivity.  A Room with a View forces us to look in the mirror and ask - what do I really care about?

Founded in 2013, (LA)HORDE is a Paris-based collective of artists —Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, and Arthur Harel - who are redefining contemporary dance in a post-internet world. Emerging from the city’s queer club scene, the trio creates choreographic works, films and installations exploring movement in a combination of storytelling and social commentary.

Since 2019, the artistic directors of the Ballet National de Marseille, have used this platform to challenge traditional dance and champion inclusivity. Their collaborations span global icons such as Madonna, Sam Smith, and Queen. Their work often features performers from diverse, non-traditional backgrounds, reflecting their commitment to breaking down artistic and cultural boundaries. 

 On working with Rambert (LA)HORDE said: “Permanent dance companies in Europe today are precious spaces, true heterotopias. Working with Rambert, our first collaboration with another repertoire company, has reaffirmed how these structures create opportunities to work with exceptional dancers in a collective process. Rambert reflects our core values of diversity and inclusion, with dancers who bring extraordinary generosity to every step of the artistic journey."

Eckhard Thiemann – Programming Associate: Dance at Lowry said: “(LA)HORDE is one of the most in-demand and hippest companies around. Their work is ferociously energetic as it is intelligent, drawing from a wide range of influences from fashion and pop culture, to abstract dance and raving. We are very excited to bring this inspirational collaboration between Rambert and (LA)HORDE to Salford.”

Tickets are available now at thelowry.com