SIZE OF COMPANY
4–10 on the road

SCALE OF VENUE
Small to medium

PERMANENT STAFF
Artistic Director
Kevin Finnan
Executive Director
Louise Richards
Programme Co-ordinator
Jo Valentine
Marketing Officer
Sanna Lounasto
Admin Assistant
Mary Kalunga-Eade
Finance Officer
Mary Peirson

ARTISTIC POLICY
Motionhouse Dance Theatre creates new work of outstanding quality that is accessible and in demand on a range of touring scales. In addition to high-impact performance work for the middle-scale venue circuit, the company creates work for performance in public places and spaces, including street festivals, large-scale dance spectacles, and site-specific events.
Underpinning the work is a continuing intention to balance a commitment to artistic adventure with a desire to be exciting, appealing, and stimulating to the broadest audience.

REVIEW EXTRACTS
A ferociously energetic performance style with a slick and glossy assault on contemporary values.
The Guardian (Driven)
Dynamic, fast paced action…Driven employs aerial work with thrilling skill, at one point it even takes on supernatural suggestions.
The Times (Driven)
Powerful stuff, excellently danced...you can almost feel the energy and emotion.
Ballet/Dance Magazine (Chaser)

CURRENT PRODUCTIONS
Underground
Performed within a rotating, rocking tubular structure Underground uses physical dance, poignant imagery and surprising aerial encounters to explore the new reality of tube travel.
25 minutes, no interval. 4 dancers. Total size of touring company: 5
Chaser
Chaser is a sharp injection of dance with high energy, awe inspiring dancing to catchy music on a triangular set. Chaser looks at how all our actions have consequences.
15 minutes, no interval. 3 dancers. Total size of touring company: 4

FUTURE PRODUCTIONS
Scattered
Scattered explores the amazing in the everyday in a meteor shower of unlikely moments. Combining highly physical dance theatre and aerial imagery with film and graphics.
Length tbc, no interval. 6 dancers. Total size of touring company: 10

WRAP-AROUND
Motionhouse delivers an extensive education and participation programme tailor made for each venue or agency, and accessible for all ages and abilities. This programme can include workshops for schools, adult community classes, creative projects for children, professional development and training projects for teachers, dancers and those who want to extend their skills base. Motionhouse’s teaching is accessible and inspiring, building on each person's capabilities and emphasising a sense of achievement for all.
The wide ranging participatory programme complements and enhances the touring performance work. As the focus of the company’s educational activity mirrors that of their touring work Motionhouse also welcomes opportunities to develop participatory performance projects, often in response to a site or location and offers longer residencies in venues and schools.
Through Motionhouse participatory projects, group members are taught, thrilled, challenged and enabled via the workshop process and creative exploration. They learn new skills, create their own dance material and potentially go on to perform and share their work. The integration of elements is the unique advantage to working with a creating company like Motionhouse – it is an exchange and allows everyone to flourish.
Classes start with simple warm-up exercises, gradually building to more challenging phrases and choreography. Participants develop body awareness, use of the body structure in weight giving and bearing, and an understanding of momentum and flow in movement. Thematically the workshop and education activity can be based on a variety of subjects or be linked directly to the themes of a production.  
Motionhouse also offers pre and post-performance discussions and talks with the director and/or company members.

RECENT INTERNATIONAL WORK
2005 Dieppe Scene Nationale, France, Perfect
2008 Festival Città delle Cento Scale (Prima edizione), Potenza, Italy, Underground
2008 Straattheater festival Buiten Gewoon, Holland, Chaser
2008 Sziget Festival Budapest, Chaser
2008 Århus Festival, Denmark, Chaser

TOURING AVAILABILITY
Chaser – from May 2009
Underground – from May 2009
Scattered – from October 2009