We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon by Rambert/(LA)HORDE Ballet national de Marseille, Southbank Centre review
Touted as the dance event of the year, we set off with great anticipation to attend We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon, a title borrowed from a quote reportedly spoken by Gene Kelly to Buzz Aldrin. The performance brought together dancers from powerhouse companies Rambert and the Ballet National de Marseille under the direction of (La)Horde, a French contemporary dance collective known for blending choreography, visual art, and digital culture to create boundary-pushing performances.
We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon, by powerhouse dance companies, Rambert and the Ballet National de Marseille under the direction of (LA)HORDE at the Southbank Centre, London. September 2025. Image credit MTotoe.
London’s dance aficionados would be increasingly familiar with (La)Horde’s work as this is their fourth time performing in London over the last couple of years. Judging by the enthusiastic reception from audiences they will be undoubtably be returning.
We were in for something unique and extraordinary, as the works unfolded across multiple locations within the Southbank Centre, with the architecture itself becoming part of the performance. Similarly, in 2023, there was the highly acclaimed Southbank takeover by Marina Abramović. The current show, however, features 80 performers across 15 live performances, 11 installations and films, including DJs, digital works, and even a stretch limousine. It is, without doubt, a hugely ambitious artistic event, offering audiences an exciting and unexpected experience while exploring the role of the body and what movement can reveal about the era we live in and how we communicate and express ourselves.
As I crossed Embankment Bridge on my way to the venue, I clapped eyes on an enormous hand painted banner draped over the 5th floor balcony of the Royal Festival Hall looking like protesters may have taken over the venue. Perhaps I was in for a night of resistance and rebellion?
We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon, by powerhouse dance companies, Rambert and the Ballet National de Marseille under the direction of (LA)HORDE at the Southbank Centre, London. September 2025. Image credit MTotoe.
We were given a map of the site listing the various performances, films and installations with their title name but no description, leaving us to personally interpret what we were seeing. We came up with a rough plan of what we didn’t want to miss and then we would fit in whatever was possible in between. Some performances had specific times, others were ongoing performances that were easy to dip in and out of. Everyone moved freely exploring and watching things for as long or as little as they wanted, each curating their own experience.
The first performances of the evening were in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, in an area where people usually congregate for a drink before the main event in the auditorium. A black vinyl floor delineated the performing space from the huddled audience. Those vertically challenged, like me, held up our phones over taller audience member’s heads to see the performance - Low Rider (a 15- minute piece of dance) which appeared to be a simplified excerpt from “Age of Content” shown earlier this year. A skeletal car frame bucks and writhes like a mechanical bull, at times dragging a dancer along the floor behind it. Dancers were clothed in lime green Juicy Couture track suits with faces obscured by thin stocking material, moving to sounds of a loud breath and packs of dogs barking, all together creating an ominous and mysterious piece of dance. Short 5-minute excerpts from (La)Horde’s Room With a View piece were occurring in an adjacent area of the foyer with dancers then moving through the audience to begin the next piece – Weather is Sweet to a soundtrack of storms, rain, and chanting of “Hope is rising. Everybody knows. Come. Come. Come” and misty smoke blowing over the space. Dancers were pulsating, alive and dare I say sexy.
We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon, by powerhouse dance companies, Rambert and the Ballet National de Marseille under the direction of (LA)HORDE at the Southbank Centre, London. September 2025. Image credit MTotoe.
Hop(e)storm was a memorable performance on the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. While much of what was shown over the evening was quite abstract, as is often the case with contemporary dance, I felt there was a political arc running through Hop(e)storm about women’s struggle for equality. But to each his own, half the fun is discussing it with someone after and seeing what they come up with. Six couples begin on a white stage with women running violently at their partners being captured and dragged back to where they came from repeatedly with the men wearing down the women as their run up shortens with each attempt. Suddenly Jailhouse Rock amusingly begins to play (historically women lived a “jailed life”-perhaps too literal but fit the narrative I was creating). The couples begin swing dancing in traditional female-male roles then the style moves on to become more linear, reaching a sort of “equality” between the men and women. After a brief pause additional audience members are led to watch from the side of the stage. “US” begins, a duet where the dancers begin separately in their own space, eventually searching for each other and ending in the most tender of embraces - a touchingly beautiful and simple 5 minute balletic and graceful performance.
We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon, by powerhouse dance companies, Rambert and the Ballet National de Marseille under the direction of (LA)HORDE at the Southbank Centre, London. September 2025. Image credit MTotoe.
We headed back towards the Royal Festival Hall where the riverside terrace had an ongoing performance of The Master’s Tools with a film of the same name forming a backdrop on one side, see through fencing on another, allowing the general public to observe and wonder curiously what the heck might be occurring here. A stretch limo, graffitied with “WE THE PEOPLE”, is central to this performance piece. The performers are a cross section of people, some dressed for a night out, others in tracksuits. It is an odd scene which differs as you visit the site throughout the night. The floors are repeatedly graffitied with “cancelled” and “tomorrow is cancelled” on repeat as efficient ride on street sweepers are driven erasing all traces. Cancelled one minute, uncancelled another – a reflection of how the world now seems to work now.
Inside the festival hall on the 3rd floor is a vast space which had a contrasting vibe to when I last saw it being used by photographers and graduating students during our daughter’s UCL graduation. Now it was set up with a raving DJ and performances throughout the evening as people ebbed and flowed through this space. The highlight here was Grime Ballet with men dancing in ballet point shoes. There was something satisfying in seeing men wearing point shoes for a change. This was a powerful, vibrant, exhilarating dance.
We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon, by powerhouse dance companies, Rambert and the Ballet National de Marseille under the direction of (LA)HORDE at the Southbank Centre, London. September 2025. Image credit MTotoe.
We caught the tail end of a performance involving nudity but were delayed as all phone cameras, front and back, needed to be covered with stickers to protect the performers privacy. By the time we got in it was mere seconds before the dancer behind steamy glass were getting dressed. You win some and you lose some.
We also saw a short film Bondy (named after a suburb of Paris), showing its community practicing activities which are in themselves a form of dance - from synchronised swimmers, to cheerleaders, to stunt motorcyclists - an interesting, observational piece of film.
The evening culminated in a large performance on the riverside terrace. Certain performances will have appealed more than others. The scattered programme is not for everyone, and it was best to come with a curious and open mind. Overall, it was quite a wild evening from which we left with much to ponder.
Date: 3–6 September 2025. Time: Run time approx. 3 hours. Location: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8X. Price: from £37 (+ £3.50 booking fee). Book now
Review by Natascha Milsom
