Rambert x (LA)HORDE @ Southbank Centre : WE SHOULD HAVE NEVER WALKED ON THE MOON

Presentation

WE SHOULD HAVE NEVER WALKED ON THE MOON (“Moon”) is a genre-bending five-day durational performance event, straddling dance, visual art, music and technology in an experiential walk-through installation.

“Intellectually, politically, and physically, Gene Kelly felt walking on the moon was a form of vandalism” (Marine Brutti, [LA]HORDE). Taking its title from a line Gene Kelly once told Buzz Aldrin, this ambitious, immersive project explores the role of the body in a post-internet age of infinite information, communication and expression.

Staged durationally over 5 days in September 2025, “Moon” combines 13 dance works (c.3 hours total) with film, visual art and installation, in an unprecedented takeover of Southbank Centre’s public and private spaces. Choreography will include existing works by (LA)HORDE, Lucinda Childs, Cécilia Bengolea & François Chaignaud, and Oona Doherty – expertly curated, adapted and restaged for the Southbank Centre site – as well as a new (LA)HORDE commission for Rambert’s dancers.

The heart of this project is its resistance to traditional categorisation. As a collaboration between Rambert and (LA)HORDE with Ballet national de Marseille, the dance elements will be exemplary, but the work as a whole is a multidisciplinary experience with mass appeal; to be journeyed through, rather than spectated. Backstage, behind-the-scenes areas will transform into performance venues, while traditional concert spaces will be subverted by dancers performing from auditorium seats while audiences traverse the stage.

“Moon” supports our organisational mission to transform space and broaden who, where and how audiences interact with us. The commission, our first with Southbank Centre despite their proximity to Rambert, will introduce new audiences to us whilst attracting more diverse audiences to dance via the project’s far-reaching multi-disciplinarity. We anticipate audiences of 4,000+, and a wide demographic reaching beyond traditional dance audiences.

Artistic Team

Creative team:  Marine Brutti, (LA)HORDE Co-Artistic Director - France; Jonathan Debrouwer, (LA)HORDE Co-Artistic Director - France; Arthur Harel, (LA)HORDE Co-Artistic Director - France. Project Management team: Benoit Swan Pouffer- Artistic Director, Rambert- France; Mark Ball- Artistic Director, Southbank Centre- UK; Aaron Wright- Head of Dance & Performance, Southbank Centre- UK; Phil Bentley- Head of Production and Sustainability Champion, Rambert- UK. Current Rambert dancers: Adel Balint – Hungary; Aishwarya Raut – India; Alessio Corallo – Italy; Angelique Blasco – France; Cali Hollister – USA; Conor Kerrigan – UK; Dipesh Varma – India; Dylan Tedaldi – USA; Hannah Hernandez – Philippines; Hua Han - Taiwan; Jau’mair Garland – USA; Jorge Lopez de Lamadrid Hernandez – Spain; Max Day – USA; Musa Motha – South Africa (guest artist); Naya Lovell – USA; Siang Huang – Taiwan; Seren Williams – UK; Simone Damberg-Wurtz - Denmark. Current Ballet national de Marseille dancers: Sarah Abicht – Belgium; Nina-Laura Auerbach – Germany; Isaia Badaoui – France; Alida Bergakker – Netherlands; Izzac Carroll – Australia; Joao Castro – Brazil; Titouan Crozier – France; Malgorzata Czajowska – Poland; Matteo Fogli – Italy; Myrto Georgiadi – Greece; Samuel Gilovitz – Australia; Nathan Gombert – France; Eddie Hookham – England; Nonaka Kato – Japan; Yoshiko Kinoshita – Japan; Amy Lim – Australia; Laura Mello Rella – Italy; Jonatan Myhre Jorgensen – Denmark; Lola Ruscica – France; Pere Sansaloni Servera – Spain; Aya Sato – Japan; Rubia Serena Veth – Netherlands; Paula Tato Horcajo – Spain; Hugo Thabaret – France; Elena Valls Garcia – Spain/USA; Nahimana Vandenbussche – Belgium; Antoine Vander Linden – Belgium.

Co-producing Partners