INTERVIEW | Motionhouse's Rehearsal Director Junior Cunningham
I’m back with another insightful interview from Motionhouse’s Rehearsal Director, Junior Cunningham. Motionhouse’s combination of dance and circus has inspired me for years, ever since I first saw them when I was studying at Coventry University. Their pulsating work travels all the world and I even enjoyed watching some of their shows during lockdown when they were made available through YouTube.
Today’s interview is with their Rehearsal Director Junior Cunningham.
Can you start by introducing yourself and letting us a little bit about what it is that you do?
I’m Junior and I’m Motionhouse’s Rehearsal Director. Rehearsals are a crucial part of the life of a dance company: every day different dancers can be rehearsing different shows, especially when we are touring. It’s my responsibility to make sure the dancers know the work we are rehearsing and that we are using their time and energy wisely to make sure we are ready to perform to the high standard we always deliver.
I’ve been working with Motionhouse since I joined as an apprentice in 2002, performing with the company for 15 years all over the world. So I have a good insight of our repertoire and how our artistic director Kevin Finnan works. This is really helpful for my job as it means I can step in and show the dancers how to perform certain moves when we’re rehearsing and give feedback to the dancers when Kevin is working on another production.
How did you get into your chosen career initially and what drew you to that career within the arts specifically?
I got into dance as an escape really. I grew up in Birmingham and I was getting in with the wrong crowd. When I was coming towards the end of school I needed a change and wanted to go to college but I wanted to go somewhere different where I didn’t know anyone.
I had lost hope of finding something and I’d actually taken a job a cleaner when my sister Chantelle made a deal with me. She said if she could find a course with no one I knew on it I would do it no matter what it was. She found a BTEC in dance which I didn’t even know I could do and hadn’t thought about doing before other than dancing in my living room. I instantly fell in love and learned contemporary dance and it just grew and grew from there.
Initially it was a way out for me but then I enjoyed doing something different and then when I saw I could travel and explore the world I was hooked.
Read my review of their production ‘Scattered’.
Do you think there’s enough education available about the different roles within theatre?
Not really, I think you have to be lucky with your parents, friends and teachers who are in the know and can pass on the information to you on the roles and how people can get into theatre.
For me it was luck, where I came from I thought theatre was just something rich people went to. I associated it with opera, ballet and panto and that’s it. It was never something I was told about in school. Even now I have friends and family who don’t understand this is my full-time job, they think it’s just a hobby.
From doing teaching work with Motionhouse too I’ve seen even now how careers advice is steered into a more ‘realistic option’ and that working in theatre is seen as a fantasy job. But the reality is you can be interested in business and work in theatre or textiles or carpentry and so much more, theatre encompasses it all.
What continues to motivate you to make something new and exciting in your role?
There’s a constant voyage of discovery. I like to challenge myself, my role varies a lot and creativity is still real passion. There’s always something new and fresh.
I try to have personal goals too and push myself physically. I like the freedom dance gives you physically and that I can still be fit and eat what I want and it’s fun above all else. I get to work and have fun while doing it.
Is there one moment in your career that you’ve stood back and thought, wow!?
One moment that stands out for me to performing Underground at Fira Tarrega, a large international festival in Spain. It was one of the largest crowds we’d performed to, there must’ve been around 7,000 people and there was an amazing reaction from the crowd.
I somehow managed to bust my nose open during the performance so there was blood streaming down my face, and it’s left me with a scar but it is a physical gift and reminder of that show. It means I’ll never forget that performance.
What’s been your favourite production to do as of late?
It’s been a while since I’ve performed but my favourite production to perform in theatres was Broken because I got to do a really cool solo and showcase my skills and talents. I also got to do a duet on stilts which was terrifying but drew on my specific talents.
I also really enjoy doing our large scale shows because you get to meet so many people and really connect and immerse yourself with a community. For instance, when we performed The Voyage, stepping out onto a ship we’d built in my hometown in front of thousands of people, nothing can compare to that.
Also abseiling off a 60m harbour building in Denmark for our performance of Watermusic was incredible. But what’s most heartening thing about working on those large scale shows is working with the community and having an effect on them in a way you don’t get to normally with our teaching work for example. It’s an absolute joy to work on.
Have there been some lows in your career?
I think the lows in my career have been when I’ve been injured and I’m unable to be a part of what’s going on. The last year has also been a low where due to the pandemic we’ve been on hiatus and not able to perform and not knowing what’s going on.
I think as well it’s hard to get the work life balance right and that’s been tough for me sometimes when I feel like I need to be at home or I’ve had to miss important moments.
What do you think makes Motionhouse stand out from other dance/theatre companies in the UK?
I think Motionhouse’s distinctive style of dance-circus fusion makes us stand out, you always know you’re watching a Motionhouse show from the style of movement and powerful physicality our dancers have.
We’re a really adventurous company and I think that sets us apart too. For example, what you can do with dance – with our outdoor shows like WILD or our JCB production EXO to using digital projections in our theatre productions to make the shows an immersive and extraordinary experience for audiences.
What work inspires the work that Motionhouse does?
Our Artistic Director Kevin is inspired by common human concerns and our connection to the natural world. So our shows have been inspired by flooding, the pressure of time, fear and captivity, and our relationship with water, the Earth and energy.
Our latest production Nobody is all about our inner selves and how that we adapt it to present ourselves to the outside world which has been particularly interesting to explore while everyone’s worlds have been changing so much in the last year.
How can people support Motionhouse Dance Company right now?
If you want to find out more about Motionhouse you can follow us on our social media channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or sign up to our newsletter to find out about the latest information training and classes and to be the first to know about our touring announcements.
If you enjoyed this interview, why not have a read of the one I did with Artistic Director Nikolai Foster.