About Us  

Run by dance and theatre practitioners, the movingartsbase team work to foster an inclusive supportive environment of the highest standard.

Mission Statement

movingartsbase is a resource for the Performing Arts with a special focus on movement based improvisation. It aims to provide affordable and accessible quality facilities and space for rehearsal, research and development for practitioners from diverse art-forms and communities.

The Team

Gary Fannin - General Manager

Originally trained as an actor he also directed for a number of years. His creative background most recently includes West End credits with The Reduced Shakespeare Company with whom he performed and directed for over 5 years. He worked as Producer and Director for Solution Films Ltd from 2002 to 2006 and also as a Co-Producer with the award winning Swing It Films.

Gary trained as a Holistic Therapist in 2003 and has been teaching and assisting related therapies for the last two years.

Recently he worked to develop and promote courses in Massage, Nutrition and Herbal Medicine at The College of Naturopathic Medicine where he helped triple their enrolments.

He joins movingartsbase with a love for the building, a belief in it’s mission and keen interest to make it a welcoming home for performers and therapists alike in order to create and heal.

Joyce Gyimah - Assistant Manager

Scarlett Perdereau - Administrator

Jan Lee - Marketing and Advertising

Zosia Dowmunt - Office Assistant

Yasmin Ghanim - Office Assistant

Mafe Toledo - Office Assistant

Kate Pyper - Landscape Gardener

Kate looks after all the beautiful plants and flowers around the centre as well as the landscaping in the courtyard. Every week you will notice new flower arrangements in the reception area, many of which come from her own garden.

History

Before movingartsbase came Studio 10, a single studio built by John Koratjitis in 2004 for movement practise and education. This was a great success, so when the ground floor of the adjacent building became vacant, John decided to expand into this space, building two more studios and five treatment rooms for alternative therapies which would support the movement practises. Thus movingartsbase was born.

To further develop movement research and exploration, movingartsbase programs its own courses. In 2004 the summer festival offered workshops in Contact Improvisation, Body-Mind-Centering, Feldenkrais and Skinner Releasing Technique. Suprapto Suryadarmo also conducted a 10-day residential workshop in the wilds of Surrey.

2006 saw the best improvisation teachers from around the world offering monthly workshops as part of the 2006 Improvisation Programme. This Programme culminated in an improvisation festival - ESCAPADE in early November. The first of it’s kind, ESCAPADE was a cross-art event with 4 days of dance, theatre and voice improvisation classes and performances. It was supported by a National Lottery Grant, Islington Council and local Islington businesses.

During 2006 movingartsbase has hosted teachers and performers including Suprapto Suryadarmo (Indonesia), Andrew Morrish (Australia), Sten Rudstrøm (USA), Kirstie Simson, Adam Benjamin, Guy Dartnell, Thomas Kampe, Gaby Agis and Helen Poynor to name just a few!

In early 2007, movingartsbase.ltd was formed - this incarnation closed on the 31st August 2009.

John Koratjitis re-established movingartsbase on Tuesday 1st September 2009 and it is now trading as J. Koratjitis T/A movingartsbase, with the new team above.