Common Ground
Justice in Motion were commissioned by Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in Oxford to present a brand new piece of work as part of Open House – a day long festival celebrating the launch of the Centre for the Humanities Cultural Programme.
Common Ground was inspired by feedback from a diverse range of people and explored what kindness meant to them. Featuring our impressive athletic performers using trials bikes, parkour and physical theatre we created a riveting outdoor display, that was presented multiple times throughout the day.
We’re hoping to develop Common Ground into a full-length touring show, so stay tuned to our channels for details.
RESISdANCE is a Justice in Motion project that highlights the plight of refugees, their journey & their stories, and yet celebrates their resilience, their strength, their beauty and vulnerability.
“We cannot fight in this war in the usual way, as our Ukrainian men do. (…) Therefore, I am proud to be a part of this project… it’s my battlefield.”
In February 2023 a group of Ukrainian refugee women came together with local dancers from Oxfordshire, to stand or rather dance together in solidarity against the war. We created a dance piece that could be performed as a Flashmob, based on the emotional journeys of the refugee women. An original soundtrack was composed for the piece, inspired by traditional Ukrainian music.
On the 24th February to mark one year since the invasion of Ukraine we performed the Flashmob at Oxford Train Station. Train stations have become a lifeline for many people caught in the conflict. They offer a means of escape from the violence and a way to access aid and supplies. It felt fitting to perform this piece in our local station. The Flashmob was highly moving for those involved and those that found themselves as audience members.
We then performed the Flashmob a second time as part of a special International Women’s Day event at Oxford Town Hall, and created a filmed version at OVADA Gallery.
In July 2023 as part of Oxford Festival of the Arts, we staged a Portrait & Audio Exhibition at OVADA, that highlighted 11 of the women, their stories of resilience, and journeys into the unknown. Their portraits were taken by Ukrainian photographer Vadym Gurevych. The Flashmob was once more performed at the Opening, and shared on film throughout the week.
Below you can see videos of the performances, from the original flashmob at Oxford railway station, and the exhibition at OVADA Gallery.
The Portrait & Audio Exhibition is staged again during Refugee Week at the Central Library in Oxford in the Westgate, from 16-21st June 2025, bringing their voices once more to the public, a terrifying 3 years on from the beginning of the war in Ukraine. We still stand, we still dance, we still hope.
Portrait & Audio Exhibition at OVADA Gallery
Click to listen to the words from some of the Ukrainian women who took part in the RESISdANCE project.
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Creative Team
Artistic Direction: Anja Meinhardt.
Creative Collaborator: Krystal Dawn Campbell
Ukrainian Collaborator: Maryna Soloviova
Soundtrack: Quentin Lachapele
Film: Ignite Creative / Michael Lynch
Portrait Photography: Vadym Gurevych
Photography: John Cairns
Dates
2023
24 February – Oxford Railway Station
8 March – Oxford Town Hall (International Women’s Day)
6 July – OVADA, Oxford (performance & exhibition)
7-9 July – OVADA, Oxford (exhibition)
2025
16-21st June – Oxford Central Library / Westgate (Refugee Week)
In partnership with Oxford Festival of the Arts and OVADA. With support from Multaka Oxford at Pitt Rivers.
The phone vibrates…a message…times, numbers, deals…and a warning. All in code. So young and so troubled. At home, in school, on the street. There’s no way out – is there?
CODE, Justice in Motion’s urban odyssey into County Lines and Knife Crime, is a spectacular blend of physical theatre, parkour and trials bike stunts with live rap and music. On an urban playground, skilled athletes and performers show what is happening to our young people exploited by organised drug crime gangs.
This story could be happening right now. See inside the County Lines through up-close, dazzling, adrenaline-fuelled, audacious story-telling inspired by true case studies.
In some locations, following a 3-day residency with the company, local young people will find out about County Lines and the dangers involved. Together with the professional team, learning special movement skills, they will create part of the show and will perform alongside athletes and performers.
Our latest show digs into the growing levels of child exploitation by criminal gangs known as County Lines. It follows on from our previous productions which explored different kinds of modern slavery: BOUND (forced labour, sex trafficking and domestic servitude) and ON EDGE (exploitation of construction workers).
County Lines refers to the mobile phone lines that criminal gangs use to organise, store and sell drugs.
Vulnerable young people are particularly at risk of exploitation. They are often recruited by the gangs using drug debts, grooming or threats.
Tour Dates & Locations
CODE – Edinburgh – Performance 11am & 2pm
CODE – Whitehaven – Outdoor Performance 4.30pm
CODE – Skegness – Indoor Performance
CODE – Grantham – School Performance
CODE – Spalding – School Performance
CODE – Lincoln – School Performance
CODE – Didcot – Outdoor Performance
CODE – Bodmin – Schools Performance
PERFORMERS
JP:
George Mayfield
Ishmael Khan
Nicky:
Benjamin Dalton
Sylvia-Mae Gray
Mum:
Kim Francey
Georgia Thompson
Rapper/Narrator:
Marcus ‘Matic Mouth’ Smith
Jacob Dale
Bikers:
Owen Gawthorpe
James Nursaw
Andrei Burton
CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Artistic Director
Anja Meinhardt-Bruckmann
Executive Producer
Darren Walter
Associate Director
Chris Evans
Rehearsal Director
Michael Lynch
Composer
Quentin Lachapele
Set Design
Celia Perkins
Set Creation
Splinter Scencoery
Production Manager
Jonah Stein
Stage Manager
Ted Fussell
Costume & Team Supervisor
Hana Eggleston
Youth Company Director
Nikita India
Education Manager
Roy Peach
Driver/Crew Member
Christoph Immanuel Bruckmann
Graphic Designer
Evy Prentice
Antony Bridle
App Developer
Adam Ilko
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Previous Dates
2026 3 events
2025 27 events
2024 27 events
2023 12 events
How do we live with stress? Plasma investigates how our individuality is constrained and shaped by society and how it can be liberated in a frantic modern world.
Using abstract movement and interaction between dancers Plasma explores how one can express individuality positively, without destroying important social structures. Plasma shows how people are often alienated from their true values, because of the pressure exerted on them to conform to social norms.
We focus on researching and interpreting the external pressures that drive individual and social actions and the means that are used to enhance performance, for example, in sports, business, and healthcare. Through dance and multimedia, we look at what positive and negative effects pressure can have in an ever changing and increasingly demanding society.
“encapsulates the atmosphere of stressful, work driven society” Oxford Dance Writers
Dancers (original)
Monica Mate Arnall
Caroline Shephard
Anja Meinhardt
Roosa Leimu-Brown
Lisa Pocock
Irini Hatzimichali
Dancers (in further performances)
Hara Kyriazo
Amabel Luers
Bronwyn Tarr
Gemma Peramiquel
Choreographers
Anja Meinhardt & Roosa Leimu-Brown
Music (6′ piece)
Kimmo Pohjonen & Kronos Quartet
Composer & Sound Designer (25′ piece)
Jon Ouin
Lighting Designer
Ophelie Lebrasseur
Photographer
Stu Allsopp
Dates
2016
22 January – Pegasus, Oxford (Scratch Night)
26 & 27 February – Pegasus, Oxford (Moving with the Times)
16 July – Old Fire Station Oxford (Women go Live)
1 September – Old Fire Station, Oxford
28 October – The Broadway, Barking
12 November – The Old Museum, Oxford
26 November – St Barts, Reading
2018
September – Twin City Festival, Perm, Russia
2019
October – Evolution Event, Old Fire Station, Oxford
How do we live with stress? Plasma investigates how our individuality is constrained and shaped by society and how it can be liberated in a frantic modern world.
Using abstract movement and interaction between dancers Plasma explores how one can express individuality positively, without destroying important social structures. Plasma shows how people are often alienated from their true values, because of the pressure exerted on them to conform to social norms.
We focus on researching and interpreting the external pressures that drive individual and social actions and the means that are used to enhance performance, for example, in sports, business, and healthcare. Through dance and multimedia, we look at what positive and negative effects pressure can have in an ever changing and increasingly demanding society.
“encapsulates the atmosphere of stressful, work driven society” Oxford Dance Writers
Dancers (original)
Monica Mate Arnall
Caroline Shephard
Anja Meinhardt
Roosa Leimu-Brown
Lisa Pocock
Irini Hatzimichali
Dancers (in further performances)
Hara Kyriazo
Amabel Luers
Bronwyn Tarr
Gemma Peramiquel
Choreographers
Anja Meinhardt & Roosa Leimu-Brown
Music (6′ piece)
Kimmo Pohjonen & Kronos Quartet
Composer & Sound Designer (25′ piece)
Jon Ouin
Lighting Designer
Ophelie Lebrasseur
Photographer
Stu Allsopp
Dates
2016
22 January – Pegasus, Oxford (Scratch Night)
26 & 27 February – Pegasus, Oxford (Moving with the Times)
16 July – Old Fire Station Oxford (Women go Live)
1 September – Old Fire Station, Oxford
28 October – The Broadway, Barking
12 November – The Old Museum, Oxford
26 November – St Barts, Reading
2018
September – Twin City Festival, Perm, Russia
2019
October – Evolution Event, Old Fire Station, Oxford
For Promoters
Would you be interested in working with us to develop this piece into a triptych? We’re looking for artistic and research partners to take the project further.
How do we live with stress? Plasma investigates how our individuality is constrained and shaped by society and how it can be liberated in a frantic modern world.
Using abstract movement and interaction between dancers Plasma explores how one can express individuality positively, without destroying important social structures. Plasma shows how people are often alienated from their true values, because of the pressure exerted on them to conform to social norms.
We focus on researching and interpreting the external pressures that drive individual and social actions and the means that are used to enhance performance, for example, in sports, business, and healthcare. Through dance and multimedia, we look at what positive and negative effects pressure can have in an ever changing and increasingly demanding society.
“encapsulates the atmosphere of stressful, work driven society” Oxford Dance Writers
Dancers (original)
Monica Mate Arnall
Caroline Shephard
Anja Meinhardt
Roosa Leimu-Brown
Lisa Pocock
Irini Hatzimichali
Dancers (in further performances)
Hara Kyriazo
Amabel Luers
Bronwyn Tarr
Gemma Peramiquel
Choreographers
Anja Meinhardt & Roosa Leimu-Brown
Music (6′ piece)
Kimmo Pohjonen & Kronos Quartet
Composer & Sound Designer (25′ piece)
Jon Ouin
Lighting Designer
Ophelie Lebrasseur
Photographer
Stu Allsopp
Dates
2016
22 January – Pegasus, Oxford (Scratch Night)
26 & 27 February – Pegasus, Oxford (Moving with the Times)
16 July – Old Fire Station Oxford (Women go Live)
1 September – Old Fire Station, Oxford
28 October – The Broadway, Barking
12 November – The Old Museum, Oxford
26 November – St Barts, Reading
2018
September – Twin City Festival, Perm, Russia
2019
October – Evolution Event, Old Fire Station, Oxford
How do we live with stress? Plasma investigates how our individuality is constrained and shaped by society and how it can be liberated in a frantic modern world.
Using abstract movement and interaction between dancers Plasma explores how one can express individuality positively, without destroying important social structures. Plasma shows how people are often alienated from their true values, because of the pressure exerted on them to conform to social norms.
We focus on researching and interpreting the external pressures that drive individual and social actions and the means that are used to enhance performance, for example, in sports, business, and healthcare. Through dance and multimedia, we look at what positive and negative effects pressure can have in an ever changing and increasingly demanding society.
“encapsulates the atmosphere of stressful, work driven society” Oxford Dance Writers
Dancers (original)
Monica Mate Arnall
Caroline Shephard
Anja Meinhardt
Roosa Leimu-Brown
Lisa Pocock
Irini Hatzimichali
Dancers (in further performances)
Hara Kyriazo
Amabel Luers
Bronwyn Tarr
Gemma Peramiquel
Choreographers
Anja Meinhardt & Roosa Leimu-Brown
Music (6′ piece)
Kimmo Pohjonen & Kronos Quartet
Composer & Sound Designer (25′ piece)
Jon Ouin
Lighting Designer
Ophelie Lebrasseur
Photographer
Stu Allsopp
Dates
13 June 2016 – International Migration Institute (Greenhouse performance)
17 June 2016 – OMSS, Pitt Rivers Museum (excerpts)
25 June 2016 – Oxfordshire Science Festival (Decision & Journey, Debate)
7 August 2016 – Wilderness Festival (Pecking Order)
16-18 September 2016 – The Story Museum (Creative Lab)
1 October 2016 – European Quarter, Brussels (Nuit Blanche)
8 December 2016 – Transmic Event, Oxford (all parts)
11-12 February 2017 – The Story Museum (Pecking Order)
9 June 2017 – Lawyers Against Poverty, Oxford (Pecking Order)
How do we live with stress? Plasma investigates how our individuality is constrained and shaped by society and how it can be liberated in a frantic modern world.
Using abstract movement and interaction between dancers Plasma explores how one can express individuality positively, without destroying important social structures. Plasma shows how people are often alienated from their true values, because of the pressure exerted on them to conform to social norms.
We focus on researching and interpreting the external pressures that drive individual and social actions and the means that are used to enhance performance, for example, in sports, business, and healthcare. Through dance and multimedia, we look at what positive and negative effects pressure can have in an ever changing and increasingly demanding society.
“encapsulates the atmosphere of stressful, work driven society” Oxford Dance Writers
Dancers (original)
Monica Mate Arnall
Caroline Shephard
Anja Meinhardt
Roosa Leimu-Brown
Lisa Pocock
Irini Hatzimichali
Dancers (in further performances)
Hara Kyriazo
Amabel Luers
Bronwyn Tarr
Gemma Peramiquel
Choreographers
Anja Meinhardt & Roosa Leimu-Brown
Music (6′ piece)
Kimmo Pohjonen & Kronos Quartet
Composer & Sound Designer (25′ piece)
Jon Ouin
Lighting Designer
Ophelie Lebrasseur
Photographer
Stu Allsopp
Dates
2016
22 January – Pegasus, Oxford (Scratch Night)
26 & 27 February – Pegasus, Oxford (Moving with the Times)
16 July – Old Fire Station Oxford (Women go Live)
1 September – Old Fire Station, Oxford
28 October – The Broadway, Barking
12 November – The Old Museum, Oxford
26 November – St Barts, Reading
2018
September – Twin City Festival, Perm, Russia
2019
October – Evolution Event, Old Fire Station, Oxford
How do we live with stress? Plasma investigates how our individuality is constrained and shaped by society and how it can be liberated in a frantic modern world.
Using abstract movement and interaction between dancers Plasma explores how one can express individuality positively, without destroying important social structures. Plasma shows how people are often alienated from their true values, because of the pressure exerted on them to conform to social norms.
We focus on researching and interpreting the external pressures that drive individual and social actions and the means that are used to enhance performance, for example, in sports, business, and healthcare. Through dance and multimedia, we look at what positive and negative effects pressure can have in an ever changing and increasingly demanding society.
“encapsulates the atmosphere of stressful, work driven society” Oxford Dance Writers
Dancers (original)
Monica Mate Arnall
Caroline Shephard
Anja Meinhardt
Roosa Leimu-Brown
Lisa Pocock
Irini Hatzimichali
Dancers (in further performances)
Hara Kyriazo
Amabel Luers
Bronwyn Tarr
Gemma Peramiquel
Choreographers
Anja Meinhardt & Roosa Leimu-Brown
Music (6′ piece)
Kimmo Pohjonen & Kronos Quartet
Composer & Sound Designer (25′ piece)
Jon Ouin
Lighting Designer
Ophelie Lebrasseur
Photographer
Stu Allsopp
Video Diaries
Dates
2016
22 January – Pegasus, Oxford (Scratch Night)
26 & 27 February – Pegasus, Oxford (Moving with the Times)
16 July – Old Fire Station Oxford (Women go Live)
1 September – Old Fire Station, Oxford
28 October – The Broadway, Barking
12 November – The Old Museum, Oxford
26 November – St Barts, Reading
2018
September – Twin City Festival, Perm, Russia
2019
October – Evolution Event, Old Fire Station, Oxford
How do we live with stress? Plasma investigates how our individuality is constrained and shaped by society and how it can be liberated in a frantic modern world.
Using abstract movement and interaction between dancers Plasma explores how one can express individuality positively, without destroying important social structures. Plasma shows how people are often alienated from their true values, because of the pressure exerted on them to conform to social norms.
We focus on researching and interpreting the external pressures that drive individual and social actions and the means that are used to enhance performance, for example, in sports, business, and healthcare. Through dance and multimedia, we look at what positive and negative effects pressure can have in an ever changing and increasingly demanding society.
“encapsulates the atmosphere of stressful, work driven society” Oxford Dance Writers
Moving Together 2021
We made a second edition of the project at RAF Benson, Oxfordshire. Using the same methodology, we talked with staff, officers, family members and reservists from a wide range of ages and ranks at the base. Their experiences of loneliness and belonging are very different and inspired new ‘video gifts’ for those taking part. These are shared here and on our social channels.
Dancers (original)
Monica Mate Arnall
Caroline Shephard
Anja Meinhardt
Roosa Leimu-Brown
Lisa Pocock
Irini Hatzimichali
Dancers (in further performances)
Hara Kyriazo
Amabel Luers
Bronwyn Tarr
Gemma Peramiquel
Choreographers
Anja Meinhardt & Roosa Leimu-Brown
Music (6′ piece)
Kimmo Pohjonen & Kronos Quartet
Composer & Sound Designer (25′ piece)
Jon Ouin
Lighting Designer
Ophelie Lebrasseur
Photographer
Stu Allsopp
Dates
2016
22 January – Pegasus, Oxford (Scratch Night)
26 & 27 February – Pegasus, Oxford (Moving with the Times)
16 July – Old Fire Station Oxford (Women go Live)
1 September – Old Fire Station, Oxford
28 October – The Broadway, Barking
12 November – The Old Museum, Oxford
26 November – St Barts, Reading
2018
September – Twin City Festival, Perm, Russia
2019
October – Evolution Event, Old Fire Station, Oxford
Helplines
If you are struggling with loneliness and social isolation, or know someone who might be, reach out to others and seek help. You are not alone.
**UK-based helplines if you need a listening ear**
Samaritans (available: 24 hours Daily), call: 116 123
The Silver Line (available: 24 hours Daily), call: 0800 470 8090
Shout (available 24 hours Daily), Text SHOUT to 85258
Age UK (available: 8am–7pm Daily), call: 0800 6781602
Age Scotland (available: 9am-5pm Mon- Fri), call: 0800 12 44 222
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (available: 9.30am-4pm Mon-Fri), call: 0808 801 0899
Alone Ireland (available: 8am–8pm Daily), call: 0818 222 024
Breathing Space (available: 6pm–2am Mon-Thurs & 6pm Fri–6am Mon), call: 0800 83 85 87
**Ask for support through a befriending network near you**
Befriending Network (UK)
**Join the Archway foundation**
The Archway Foundation (UK)
**Join a Connection Coalition Facebook group**
To discuss ideas, inspirations and challenges around connection at this time: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectioncoalition