MotionFest Mission Statement:

We are a group of concerned individuals who believe that the needs of the next generation of variety artists are not being met.

There currently are juggling, magic, western arts, and other festivals that provide skill workshops, closed competitions and "public" shows. (Due to limited seating in these small venues or lack of adequate publicity, it is rare that people not associated with the festival actually attend these shows.) However, these festivals are geared more toward the hobbyist practitioner. There are limited opportunities for the budding artist to learn and develop performance skills.

These festivals do not serve the practical, emotional or creative needs of many people: the artists who wish to develop better performance skills, the producers who create shows and are looking for talent, and the many people that love to watch variety arts.

There is presently no festival that focuses on performance, offering rare opportunities for practitioners of all levels to study, discuss mutual concerns, collaborate, and perform before the public on stage in a nurturing environment.

These needs must be met, to see that senior artists continue to create and teach, to ensure that young artists are brought forward and provided assistance in developing their craft, and to allow appreciative audiences exposure to new trends in the performing arts.

In order to ensure the growth and survival of these arts, we propose and establish MotionFest: Physicality and the Performing Arts" to do the following:

1. Produce a self-supporting, cross-disciplinary, annual festival focused on performance of the manipulative arts, open to hobbyist, amateur, and professional variety artists.
2. Recognize performers of all ages and skill levels as artists, granting them creative rights, freedom of expression, and the opportunity to present their work without fear of censure.
3. Offer workshops on performance related skills for children and adults.
4. Provide a bridge between artists and the profession that supports them.

5. Create a fun and nurturing environment where artists can work together through experimentation, interaction, presentation, and critique to advance their skills and bring their concepts to fruition, in a setting where new performance concepts can be developed with an acceptance of the initial immaturity of new ideas.
6. Encourage the exploration and interaction of manipulative variety arts such as juggling, mime, magic, dance, acrobatics, clowning, comedy, puppetry, western arts, martial arts, poetry, acting, and others.
7. Offer appreciative audiences the opportunity to enjoy, support, and further the variety arts.
8. Establish, as a long term goal, a permanent year round variety arts theater in the United States along the lines of the Wintergarten or Chamaleon Variety Houses in Berlin.