Our Board and Staff
Our Staff
Louise@motionhouse.co.uk
Louise and Kevin are both responsible for developing the company's artistic vision. Louise also manages the strategic and business development of the company. She produces the overall programme, develops partnerships, initiates projects, builds new markets and produces large-scale performance events.
Kevin@motionhouse.co.uk
Kevin is Artistic Director and works with Louise on delivering Motionhouse’s artistic vision. Kevin creates and directs all our performance work, across all scales.
Jo@motionhouse.co.uk
Jo is your point of contact for booking productions and acquiring technical information. She also arranges our contracts and manages our workshop activity and project programming.
(Maternity Cover)
Rachel@motionhouse.co.uk
Rachel is your main marketing contact in the absence of long term Marketing Manager Justine Watkins. She is responsible for dealing with membership schemes, corporate sponsorship, print design, press and media opportunities and venue/festival marketing support.
Mezze@motionhouse.co.uk
Mary (A.K.A mezze) is your contact for logistics, booking classes, hiring our studio, signing up for our e-news, receiving information about Motionhouse and any general admin queries.
Liz@motionhouse.co.uk
Liz is responsible for dealing with payment of invoices, overseeing our budgets, day to day accounting, management and statutory financial reporting and all other corresponding financial issues.
Paula@motionhouse.co.uk
Paula is responsible for all the fund-raising activity to support our programme.
Lara@motionhouse.co.uk
Lara supports Justine and Rachel with the company’s marketing requirements and Paula with fundraising. She deals with a lot of the companys social media requirements and posting of blogs. Lara is also responsible for collating audience statistics and for any copy, imagery or film requirements for shows.
Dancers
Claire Benson, Martina Bussi, Daniel Connor, Junior Cunningham (Rehearsal Director), Anthony Middleton, Alasdair Stewart and Rebecca Williams.
Our Board Of Directors
Dorothy was educated in Northumberland and at the University of Wales and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. Throughout her career Dorothy has continued to pursue her interests as a performer. Since 1990 she has been Artistic Director and Chief Executive of mac (Midlands Arts Centre) Birmingham. An experienced venue manager and programmer in Local Authority venues as well as independent theatres and arts centres, Dorothy is a Board member and adviser to a wide range of organisations. For almost 8 years she was a member of the Arts Council National Council and Chair of the West Midlands Regional Council. She is a member of the Council of TMA (Theatrical Management Association), Chair of Artrix Arts Centre in Bromsgrove and of MusicLeader West Midlands and Sound Futures, Birmingham's Youth Music Action zone.
In 2005 Dorothy was awarded a Doctorate from the University of Central England in Birmingham. Dorothy is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2004 ITV Central recognised Dorothy as Arts and Culture Midlander of the Year for services to the arts and culture in the Midlands.
In 2011's New Year's Honours List Dorothy was awarded an MBE for her services to the arts.
Charles is a retired barrister who was latterly employed by Jaguar as Director of Legal Affairs. He is married with 3 children and became interested in musical arts when his daughter was a violinist in the National Children’s Orchestra.
He became interested in the governance of charitable organisations when he helped his wife set up Cambridge Artworks. Charles became involved in Motionhouse through the charity Arts and Business, and liked it so much he never left!
He is also currently Vice Chairman of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and Company Secretary of The Seven-Fifty Motor Club Limited.
Gaynor is the Principal of BOA, the new Birmingham Academy for Performing Arts, Creative Arts and Digital Media.
In the late 70s and early 80s, she worked as a dancer performing in a variety of films and projects. In the mid 80s having completed her Dance Degree, she moved in to education. Initially as a dance teacher, then Head of Performing Arts before becoming Deputy Head of a large Specialist Arts College in Birmingham and subsequently, Headteacher of an Arts School in Cheltenham.
For over 20 years Gaynor was a moderator and examiner for GCSE and A Level Dance and Performing Arts A Level. She has led numerous in-service sessions throughout the country for exam boards and local authorities. She has been an advisor to the Arts Council and is the author of a Dance text book and a variety of dance and education packs.
More recently, she has worked for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and the National College of School Leaders.
She joined the board of Motionhouse in 2003.
Sarah is a longstanding member of Motionhouse's board, having joined in 1992.
Sarah has many years experience as an accountant and latterly worked as a treasurer for a large US corporate. In addition to her charity experience with Motionhouse she has also worked with Beaconsfield and COAM.
Sarah has also been involved with various small companies including at board level. She is also a trustee and treasurer for Chiltern Open Air Museum (COAM)
Sarah is co-founder and Managing Partner of Indigo Ltd, a leading marketing and fundraising consultancy working with creative sector organisations. She previously worked in a variety of roles in the music business, most recently as Director of Communications for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Her work on customer relationship management, diversifying audiences and rebranding the CBSO received world-wide interest and has since been used as case studies in many leading journals and universities.
An erstwhile horn player, Sarah is a regular trainer and speaker on marketing, branding and fundraising matters in the UK, Austria, Finland, France and Holland. She is well-known for the strength of her networks, which span the private, voluntary and public sectors, and which lead to her being one of only 12 women to be included in Birmingham's Power 50 in 2008.
Sarah's commitment to personal social responsibility has seen her become Chairman of the UK's most diverse music festival, Gigbeth; a trustee of both Motionhouse and Spitalfields Music; and a member of the Midlands advisory panel for Common Purpose. She was previously Chairman of Birmingham Future and a founding director of Birmingham Professional DiverCity. In 2004 she was elected as a fellow of the British American Project, an initiative designed to establish stronger trans-Atlantic relationships across public and private sectors, and in 2009 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.
In her spare time, Sarah keeps chickens; enjoys walking, travelling and all forms of arts; blogs; and loves cooking for friends with her husband Baz.
Louise has been with English National Ballet since the age of 16 – at the school, as a dancer for 7 years and since 2000 in the marketing and press department, where she was appointed Marketing and Communications Director in 2006. She has represented the Company at Camp Bestival; at IMD Business School; at Mao Tse Tung’s summer retreat in Shanghai; on Radio 4’s In Our Time; at the Oxford Union alongside Ed Vaizey; on Britain’s Next Top Model and on Blue Peter. While on maternity leave in 2009, Louise completed an MBA with Distinction and was nominated as International MBA Student of the Year.
Louise was instrumental in the 2011 BBC4 documentary Agony & Ecstasy: a Year with English National Ballet; and developing new initiatives such as the Emerging Dancer competition and My First Ballets to introduce ballet to new audiences. She led the rebrand of English National Ballet in 2005-06 which has been the foundation of English National Ballet’s increased profile and record box office figures in subsequent years. She is a passionate advocate for dance and its broad appeal, believing that no other medium can so effectively cross cultural boundaries, transcend language barriers and tell universal human stories.
Kevin has over 20 years experience in marketing and communications, producing, and as a performer and director. Kevin began his career in the commercial sector where he held senior management roles with Blue Chip Companies including Smith Kline Beecham, 3M and Guinness (now Diageo), from where, having achieved the position of European Marketing Director, he left to take up a full time course at Drama School.
Following work as an actor and director, Kevin has acted as an Arts Management Consultant for a range of organisations including Audiences Central, Arts Council England, The Drum, mac, Blue Eyed Soul, Motionhouse, Warwick Arts Centre and Loughborough University.
Kevin has spearheaded Fierce's marketing strategy since 2003 and in 2007 produced Architecture Week West Midlands for Fierce Earth on behalf of Arts Council England. At the end of 2007, Kevin became Executive Producer of Fierce Earth, producing the 2008 Festival alongside a number of other projects and strategic initiatives. Kevin is also a founding Director of Wunderbar Festival Ltd, based in Newcastle, and led the delivery of the first Wunderbar Festival in the North East of England in 2009.
Kevin has held a number of board positions for arts and cultural organisations, including Motionhouse and The Other Way Works. He has also been a trustee and board member for several charities.
Pat was educated at Glasgow University where she gained an MA Hons in French Language and Literature. She subsequently qualified as a lawyer becoming a Banking Partner in the international law firm Eversheds LLP where she worked for 27 years until her retirement from the partnership in April 2011. During her time at Eversheds Pat acted for all of the major clearing banks and for both public and private companies putting together debt and equity packages to facilitate corporate acquisitions, buy-outs and buy-ins.
Pat has been cited as a leading individual in the legal directories, Chambers and Legal 500 for more than 10 years
Pat was a member of the Aston Business School Undergraduate Programme Advisory Board for 8 years, sitting on its Quality and Standard's Committee Review Panel and participating in the School's mentoring scheme.
Pat has had a lifelong interest in dance, having started ballet at the age of 5 and continuing to attend a recreational ballet class twice a week. She is also a qualified Franklin Method Educator (Level 1) a novice fencer and reluctant but regular runner.
Chris White was elected as Warwick and Leamington's new MP at the 2010 General Election. Before this he worked locally in Public Relations, having previously worked at Longbridge with MG Rover. He plays an active role in the local constituency community. As well as being on the board for Motionhouse he also serves as a governor for Myton School and as trustee for the Warwickshire Association of Youth Clubs and the Webb Trust.
In Parliament he is a member of the International Development Select Committee and currently has a Private Member's Bill - the Public Services (Social Enterprise and Social Value) Bill - going through Parliament. As well as co-chairing the Associate Parliamentary Manufacturing Group he is also involved with APPGs on Poverty, Social Enterprise and on the Computer and Video Games Industry.
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