A reluctance motor having a movable part that does not need a fixed mounting shaft in the motor's stationary part. In one embodiment, a motor of the invention has a stationary part that defines a cylindrical cavity into which a rotor is inserted, with an interior wall of the cavity covered by nonmagnetic lining. The stationary part has a plurality of stator poles, each defined by an electric coil having a magnetic core. The rotor has a spacer and a plurality of bearings, with each bearing at least partially confined between the spacer and the lining. The rotor is adapted to spin within the cavity in response to the excitation of one or more of the stator poles such that the bearings roll between the lining and the spacer. The motor can be implemented as a MEMS device, with the motor's stator being a substantially monolithic structure formed using a single substrate, which structure has a size on the order of 1 mm.