No, it’s really not too early to declare that Madonna’s The Celebration Tour will be going down in history. Imagined as an Odyssey through Madonna’s legendary life and career, in over two hours it unfolds an emotional and ecstatic adventure, featuring contemporary choreography, archival footage, a ball, Bob the Drag Queen, and numerous ghosts from the artist’s life.
In the midst of this frenzy – which, in reality, is nowhere near as chaotic as it looks – is Marseille-based collective (LA)HORDE. Founded in 2011 by Martina Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, and Arthur Harel, it mixes dance, contemporary art, and cinema. All three of them were born in the 1980s and 1990s, and take inspiration from club culture. In 2019, the collective took over the artistic direction of the Ballet National de Marseille, after having made a name for themself by creating, among other things, the choreography for Christine and the Queens‘ tour. In 2023, having collaborated with musical artists such as Rone, Nicolas Godin, Para One and Sam Smith, and Kim Petras, (LA)HORDE found itself managing the artistic direction of the choreography for Madonna‘s Celebration Tour, alongside other artists including Belgians Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet, and Americans Travis Payne, Matt Cady and Megan Lawson. Vogue sat down for an exclusive interview with the (LA)HORDE collective.
Vogue. You’ve said that it all started with a message on Instagram from Madonna. How did she find you?
(LA)HORDE. There was still some mystery remaining about how she heard of us, but her dancers eventually told us. Some of Madonna’s dancers have been working with her for over 20 years. they are part of her family, and she admires and trusts them. She can come to them and ask them who they would like to work with. She’s also always on the lookout for new talent in her niche artistic area. She knows not only the choreographers involved in her project but everything that’s being done at the moment as well.
You’ve also worked with Sam Smith, with whom she recently collaborated on the track Vulgar.
That’s right! Before that, it was Madonna who presented Sam Smith with a Grammy Award, along with Kim Petras – two contemporary queer figures, with the latter becoming the first trans woman to win a Grammy for Best Pop Duo, for the song Unholy. In fact, Madonna loves to endorse artists whose values she supports. She’s very playful and enthusiastic and senses these kinds of affinities ahead of time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3ti1OmtN4c
Were you familiar with her work before you collaborated with her?
We’re all ’80s and ’90s kids. She’s always been there for us, along with Prince and Michael Jackson. All three were born in the same summer of 1958, and they crafted an era of pop concerts with major choreography and visual effects that we take for granted today. We’re aware that we owe a lot to her as an artist. Queer culture owes her a lot as well. There’s an expression in English that says we have to remember the shoulders we’ve stood on. As artists, we’re always indebted to those artists who came before us. We were also super curious to see what she was going to ask of us. Would she take us for what we already were or have her own agenda? Or on the contrary, would she want things that were already very similar to our artistic style? You have to remember that there are 6 choreographers on the Celebration Tour, and Madonna works with these people for what they have to offer. She’s very aware of what kind of work we’re doing.
