France's edgiest dance collective hits the Southbank: 'this is the energy of now'

Bring_Your_Own_1_Rambert x LaHorde - (Kibwe Tavares, Armando Elias and Vianney Le Caer)

When I told my editor I wanted to interview (La)Horde, a fierce French-based dance collective, he’d just met them at an event in London. “They were my drinking and smoking buddies that evening,” he shot back. “Love them!” It was the swiftest pitch of my career. And when I tell this to Marine Brutti, who is one-third of (La)Horde, she laughs and puts her head in her hands. Still, a rep for being cutting edge and a little bit louche does no harm for a team in international demand.

They are about to unveil the first of several planned collaborations with Rambert, Britain’s leading contemporary dance company, at the Southbank Centre. “It’s essential to bring (La)Horde to Rambert,” declares Benoit Swan Pouffer, the company’s artistic director. “It’s hard to define who they are because they are not necessarily dancers, but their ideas and brain, the way they function and see things, really appeals to me.”