Motionhouse present
Nobody
A dance-circus adventure
Nobody has been wowing audiences in the UK and Europe since September 2021.
With its raw physical strength, gravity-defying choreography and daring action, Nobody follows 7 characters on their journey to discover who they are. What they present on the exterior might not be what they’re feeling inside.
Nobody sees Motionhouse’s renowned dance-circus style reach new levels. The spectacular strength of the performers makes every throw and lift seem effortless as we follow them through this emotional, but ultimately uplifting story, full of twists and turns.
Packed with visual magic, the world on stage is transformed before our eyes. Digital projections and the shape-shifting set create a constantly changing environment where nothing is quite what it seems…
In Nobody, the action never stops. As the characters negotiate their ever-changing reality, they search for answers as the world unravels around them. Shadowed by a group of crows that represent the characters’ inner voice and self-doubt, can they work together to find out who they are and find strength and support in each other?
Motionhouse is supported by Arts Council England with additional support from Warwick District Council and is a Hippodrome Associate Artist.
Nobody is commissioned by and created in partnership with University of Kent, ART31 and Midlands Arts Centre. Supported by Dance Hub Birmingham, Arts Connect and The Leche Trust.
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Accessibility
If you would like to learn more about the content of Nobody, check out the Visual Story below:
The remarkable performers present a fearless – and sometimes death-defying – agility & physicality, this combined with an exquisite lyricism, beauty of poetic line & total egalitarianism.’
Reviews Gate
‘An absolute feat of choreography, dance, and artistry resulting in what can only be described as a magnificent show.’
Redbrick Newspaper
‘It’s impossible to look away’
The Guardian
‘Poignant beauty, dazzling imagery and sheer physical grace”
The Times
‘Nobody is a brave, exciting and thoughtful work from Artistic Director and Choreographer Kevin Finnan that highlights a company of wonderfully talented, gravity defying performers who are willing to contort, leap and throw each other around the stage in order to bring a story to life.’
Behind the Arras
‘Captivating and breath-taking, Nobody has something for everybody.’
Bum on a Seat
‘There’s a compelling unity of motion, a sense of trust and co-operation, of mutual uplift, bodies merging together, hands reaching out to keep each other from tumbling’
The Stage
‘Performers are tossed and fly through the air as if weightless… they ebb and
flow with ease, sculptural pictures forming and dissolving, only to reassemble differently elsewhere.’
Seeing Dance
‘Nobody is full of exciting and highly-charged moments of extreme skill, liberally sprinkled with arresting dance.’
Dance Tabs
‘Tremendous contemporary dancers with daredevil circus skills’
British Theatre Guide
‘The dancers’ total commitment and trust hold the audience in spellbound silence making a moment of theatrical magic’
Critical Dance
‘Nobody is classic Motionhouse – dance, circus, a visual treat that evokes emotions and memories in the viewer – and at the end of the day, that’s exactly what dance should do.’
Reviews Hub
‘A bold, energetic and at times reflective production.’
Brum Hour
Louise Richards – Founder and Artistic Director, Motionhouse
Louise is the driving force behind Motionhouse’s trailblazing journey and global success. Her vision shapes the company’s activity and strategic direction.
Louise’s skill for recognising opportunities for the company has enabled Motionhouse to set rather than follow trends, initiating the expansion of our repertoire to include
outdoor work to appeal to a range of festival and other audiences, and producing many of the acclaimed large-scale productions that have made us a well-respected player in the UK arts sector. She is instrumental in developing the many partnerships that Motionhouse enjoys and is the producer of the company’s extensive programme.
Under Louise’s direction Motionhouse has developed a wide reaching education and training programme, reaching annually nearly 10,000 young participants. Committed to the development of the sector as a whole, she also acts as a mentor for young performers and arts organisations, as well as developing a range of apprenticeships and professional development strands for the Motionhouse programme.
Originally a dancer and choreographer, Louise remains closely involved with the performing company and creative process. A recognised leader in her sector, Louise is regularly invited to attend and speak at seminars and conferences. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Kevin Finan MBE – Founder and Artistic Director, Motionhouse
Kevin is known for his dynamic, highly visual productions integrating dance, circus and digital technology. He is responsible for the distinctive style that Motionhouse is renowned for.
He is passionate about exploring and questioning the traditional use of space in performance, which has led to the creation of an extensive body of work developed over three decades. He is regularly commissioned to develop extraordinary dance spectacles, most notably as Choreographer and Movement Director of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
More recently he developed Watermusic, a large-scale outdoor spectacle for the Aarhus 2017 European Capital of Culture celebrations in Randers Harbour, Denmark in September 2017 and Lumen, a large-scale outdoor spectacle in the lead up to the TM2021 European Capital of Culture celebrations in Timișoara, Romania in October 2018. Kevin has created major productions celebrated globally, including more than 35 theatre and outdoor festival productions and large-scale outdoor spectacles, bespoke performance events to mark cultural capital celebrations in Copenhagen and Marseille-Provence and the launch of the London 2012 Festival with The Voyage in Birmingham city centre.
Committed to collaboration, he has worked with artists including writer A.L. Kennedy, installation artist Rosa Sanchez, film-makers Logela Multimedia, set visionary Simon Dormon and international companies such as Legs On The Wall and Vancouver’s Headlines Theatre.
In 2017 Kevin became the first Visiting Professor of Dance at Birmingham City University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He has an MA in Contemporary Performing Arts from University College Bretton Hall and a PhD in Theatre from Warwick University. He is a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick and Associate Artist of Greenwich+Docklands International Festival. In 2013 he was made an honorary Doctor of Letters at the University of Warwick in recognition of the importance of his work and his service to the arts.
He was awarded an MBE in 2013 for his services to dance.
Junior Cunningham – Rehearsal Director
Junior has been Motionhouse’s Rehearsal Director since 2009. Originally from Birmingham, UK, he was encouraged to study contemporary dance by his sister when he was 17 years old.
He joined the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 1999 and graduated in 2002 with a BPA (Hons) Degree in Contemporary Dance.
Junior joined Motionhouse as an apprentice in 2002, then became a full-time dancer in January 2003. He performed in Broken, Captive, Cascade, Chaser, Dancing Inside, Dreams and Ruin, Driven, Fragile, Lost, Midwinter Magic, Perfect, Renaissance, Road to the Beach, Run!, Scattered, The Voyage, Tigress, Torque, Traction, Underground, Volatile, Watermusic, Waiting Game and Wondrous Stories.
Daniel Masserella – Dancer
Daniel is from Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, UK. He started dancing aged 14 and joined Cheshire Youth Dance Company.
Daniel went to Middlesex University before transferring to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) where he was awarded the Annual Performance Prize. He went on to become a member of Verve11, the Post-Graduate performance company of NSCD and graduated in 2011 with a Distinction.
Before joining Motionhouse, Daniel worked with Earthfall, touring with the company’s award winning show At Swim Two Boys.
Daniel joined Motionhouse in 2013 for the first American tour of Scattered. He has since performed in BLOCK, Broken, Captive, Cascade, Charge, Fragile, Knot, Lost, Lumen, Midwinter Magic, Nobody, Tigress, Traction, Underground, Watermusic, WILD and Wondrous Stories.
Alex De La Bastide – Dancer
Alex is originally from Northwich in Cheshire in the UK and started contemporary dance and the age of 14 at the Lowry CAT scheme. She then joined Rambert school when she was 17, where she graduated in June 2021.
Alex joined Motionhouse in June 2021 and has performed in Captive, HENGE, Knot, Nobody, Starchitects and Wondrous Stories.
Olly Bell – Dancer
Born in Leeds, UK, Olly began his dance training on the Northern Ballet CAT Scheme, later transferring to the CAT Scheme at Northern School of Contemporary Dance. He completed his BA(Hons) Contemporary Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and joined the EDGE Postgraduate Company in his final year. Whilst with EDGE, Olly toured the UK and Europe in works by Tamsin Fitzgerald (2Faced Dance Company), Ben Wright, Athina Vahla and Phillipe Blanchard.
After graduation he went on to join Rosie Kay Dance Company for the creation and UK Tour of 10 Soldiers and perform in a UK and USA Tour of 5 Soldiers. Olly has also performed the principal role of Jaschiu in the Royal Opera House production of Death in Venice, directed by David McVicar and choreographed by Lynne Page. As well as performing in theatre work, he also enjoys being part of dance in film, recently starring in the TV Series of Brave New World choreographed by Maxine Doyle (Punch Drunk), and also performed in music videos for artists such as Groove Armada, The Ninth Wave and Low Island.
Olly joined Motionhouse in February 2020 and has since performed Captive, Happy Hour, Knot, Nobody, Starchitects, WILD and Wondrous Stories.
Llewelyn Brown – Dancer
Llewelyn is from Wick, South Wales, UK. He got into dancing through gymnastics and with a connection to a local theatre school, learning dancing, singing and acting.
He joined the National Dance Company of Wales Associates Programme at the age of 13 then moved on to Rambert School where he graduated in June 2021.
Llewelyn joined Motionhouse in June 2021 and has performed in Captive, Nobody, Starchitects, WILD and Wondrous Stories.
Berta Contijoch – Dancer
Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Berta studied contemporary dance at the Institut del Teatre, Conservatory of Dance (2010-2016), before performing as a member of the Postgraduate Company VERVE at Northern School of Contemporary Dance (2016-2017). She graduated with an MA in Contemporary Dance in 2017. Afterwards she joined Motionhouse as an artist in training for 6 months.
Berta has performed and toured with choreographers and companies including Southpaw Dance Company directed by Robby Graham, performing Carousel and Erimus; and the last site specific creation by the artistic director Hansel Cereza, choreographer of Cirque du Soleil’s Love. Berta also enjoys teaching and training other disciplines including hand to hand (circus discipline).
Berta joined Motionhouse in February 2019. She has since performed in Charge, Gravity, Lost, Nobody, Starchitects, WILD and Wondrous Stories.
Chris Knight – Dancer
Originally from Hereford, UK, Chris began performing with 2FacedDance. He completed the Foundation Course at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and graduated with a BA (Hons) degree from London Contemporary Dance School in 2012.
Prior to joining Motionhouse, he worked in the UK and abroad on productions for Protein Dance, 2Faced Dance, Hélène Blackburn, Company Decalage, Balletto Civile, Matthias Kass, Maura Morales, Shumpe iNemoto, Robin Dingemans and Sweetshop Revolution.
Chris joined Motionhouse in 2014 for a USA tour of Scattered. He has since performed in BLOCK, Captive, Charge, Gravity, Knot, Lumen, Midwinter Magic, Nobody, Starchitects, Underground, Watermusic, WILD and Wondrous Stories.
Beth Pattinson – Dancer
Born in Durham, UK, Beth was introduced to contemporary dance at the CAT Programme at Dance City, Newcastle, before studying for a BA(Hons) Contemporary Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Her highlights included performing alongside Punch Drunk as part of the everyBODY Project in Selfridges and being a part of the creative processes and performances of work by Stephanie Schober and Maciej Kuźmiński.
Beth joined Motionhouse in 2017 as an apprentice dancer through the postgraduate diploma programme at Northern School of Contemporary Dance. In 2018 she joined the company as a full-time company member and has performed in BLOCK, Captive, Charge, Happy Hour, Lost, Lumen, Midwinter Magic, Nobody, Starchitects, WILD and Wondrous Stories.
Joel Pradas – Dancer
Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Joel studied contemporary dance at the Institut del Teatre, Conservatory of Dance, in Barcelona (2010-2016), before performing as a member of the Postgraduate Company VERVE at Northern School of Contemporary Dance (2016-2017). He graduated with an MA in Contemporary Dance in 2017.
His previous projects include Leviathan with James Wilton Dance (Autumn Tour, 2017), various shows at the Edinburgh Festival and on tour with VERVE (2017), and Momentum (2015).
Joel joined Motionhouse in 2018, and has performed in BLOCK, Captive, Nobody, Starchitects, WILD and Wondrous Stories.
Northcott Theatre
