Scattered Reviews
National Press
"Shock and awe: eliciting gasps as the dancers bodysurf across the face of the wave or launch themselves from its vertiginous peak"
Read more from The Observer review
"Super athletic dancers, as dexterous in the air and with ropes as they are on the floor, this is a company that has long cornered the high impact end of the market"
Read more from The Guardian review
"The performance is practically jet-propelled - the quicksilver cast almost never stops moving. Dazzling"
Read more from The Times review
"The 70 minutes simply flew past, and I could have sat through it again immediately. With Scattered, Finnan and his talented dancers have taken the company to a new level"
Read more from the Dancing Times review
"Moments when live movements synchronise with on-screen imagery - a dancer kicks the back wall, water droplets spray up - are a cunning delight, as is the sound score that shifts musical textures and tempi in keeping with climate changes that take water from frozen floes to steamy heat"
Read more from The Herald review
Regional Press
"One of the best contemporary dance companies around have created a mesmerising combination of physical dance and film that thrills the senses and tricks the eye"
Read more from the Daily Echo's review
"It is not often that words fail me but this is an occasion where I have come close. Watching Scattered, the new production from dance company Motionhouse, was an incredible experience and one that had me rapt from the start"
Read more from the Berkshire and Hertfordshire Life's review
"The choreography is lean, incisive, appropriate to what we are seeing on film, and the work speeds past in a continuous stream of events, highly physical, often near-dangerous. It is fascinating to watch"
Read more from the Oxford Times review
"A fascinating experience... an assault on the senses, amazing"
Read more from the Manchester Evening News review
"The dancing evolves subtly which sums up this brilliant production... Scattered demonstrates the ways in which widely different techniques can be combined to give a terrific evening at the theatre"
Read more from the What's On Stage review "In general, I seek entertainment among arts which have words – books, plays, films, music with lyrics – but this offering, from contemporary dance company Motionhouse, tempted because it promised 'a unique interaction between film and live performance'. In fact, the show, which lasted not much longer than 1 hour, delivered far more"
Read more from The Argus review
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Scattered Testimonials
"My career has spanned 25 years working in the New Zealand creative industry, and I've been fortunate enough to collect 5 Oscars for our team at Weta Workshop for our work on The Lord of the Rings and King Kong and I've also had the great pleasure of participating in Avatar, District 9 and The Chronicles of Narnia (to name a few).
As you can imagine I have come into contact with some widely creative and imaginative people in the entertainment arena. Motionhouse's work is some of the most startling and original performance based contemporary dance I have had the pleasure of witnessing. Kevin Finnan kindly introduced me to the work of this team from the UK and the original dynamic performance and sheer talent of the performers leaves the viewer utterly amazed. The incredible physical achievements and beautiful dance by this group is just captivating"
Sir Richard Taylor | Weta, New Zealand (Creators of Avatar)
"Absolutely amazing. Spectacular. Heart stopping!"
Debby Hudspith | Playbox Warwick
"1 week later I am still thinking about it. Visually exhilarating, thought-provoking, magnificent and inspiring!!"
Dr David Yules | Playbox Warwick
"Captivating, enthralling, entertaining, dreamscape"
Audience Member | The Grand Theatre, Blackpool
"I saw the performance at Southbank last night and absolutely loved it – the best dance I have seen by some margin – I definitely want to keep an eye out for when you're next around"
Audience Member | Southbank's QEH, London
"A technical tour de force – a thrilling, energetic, highly physical piece of dance theatre delivered with quiet strength, skill and flair by an appealing group of performers"
Audience Member | The Lowry
"Utterly unexpected, stunning and literally had me on the edge of my seat for the whole 70 minutes! Thank you for this beautiful piece, I want to see it again!"
Joanne Griffiths | Wycombe Swan
"I knew it would be great, but it was breathtaking, emotive with fantastic energy, and I'd come again tomorrow and bring friends if I could!"
Gertrud Gunn | macrobert
"Absolutely blew me away. I was entranced throughout the whole performance with the beautiful lyrical rhythm of the show"
Kimberly Watkins | Wales Millennium Centre
"I saw this production at The Torch Theatre and thought it was excellent, so I arranged a trip to see it again with movement students I teach at Penib College. Energised, exciting and professional"
Alias Winton | Wales Millennium Centre
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Outdoor Productions Reviews & Testimonials
"The glamourous side of travel by sea got a look in from Motionhouse dancers who performed graceful duets under the stars... The company's more usual style came to the force as a storm hit. The mood changed dramatically as dancers hung, swung and twisted from the ship's rails... There was a real sense of pride, that one feels rarely at a performance. Everyone deserved a medal."
Read more from DancingTimes' Review
Spectacle is a word that is often over used in theatre but for The Voyage there is no other word. This outside dance theatre performance uses every sense to tell a simple story of love and loss, companionship and adventure. The feeling of pride, patriotism and wonder was palpable tonight as the City of Birmingham broke into spontaneous applause throughout the 45 minute extravaganza. Everyone knew how special and unique this event was and will be eternally grateful that their city was chosen to host it."
Read more from Will James’ The Public Review
"Greatest praise is reserved for all the performers, who were able to capture stories of love and loss, romance and disaster, as the ship encounters a storm. Their excitement was infectious, as the spritely passengers hung off the railings waving energetically to the crowd, throwing luggage to each other in a choreographed dance. Through fantastic dress, facial expressions, and flawless air acrobats the performers were engaging; enhanced by clever costume decisions so as certain characters would be distinguishable."
Read more from Natalya Paul’s Review
"...an absolute spectacle that I did not want to end. All in all, I give The Voyage 5/5"
Read more fromYin and Yang's Review
"Cascade was the highlight of Surrey University's Dance and spectacle conference"
Rachel Fensham on Cascade | Head of Dance, University of Surrey
"With Cascade Motionhouse combine a serious subject with high quality artistic performance, leaving festival audiences both stunned and amazed by the tidal wave that has taken place in front of their eyes"
Cascade Review | Zone European Arts Project
"I was so shocked to find myself feeling so emotional and connected to the narratives - as well as being astonished at the skill and strength of the dancers… The set was exciting and the drama so affecting - thought provoking and powerful… Thanks, thanks, thanks for the best performance experience I have had for years!"
Audience Member on Cascade | Bristol Do
"Motionhouse - yet again another fantastic piece performed at the Bristol Do. Such skilful dancers and beautiful choreography. Always relevant and inspirational!"
Audience Member on Cascade | Bristol Do
"Underground manages to be both complex and accessible as testified by the hundreds of people that gathered on the seafront to enjoy each of the performances. Motionhouse again demonstrate that contemporary dance can find a large new audience without compromising artistic integrity but with a huge dose of choreographic flair, acrobatic flourish, humour, empathy and real life relevance"
Donna Close on Underground | Associate Producer & Programmer, Brighton Festival
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