Health

Dance opens our eyes, it moves us, it connects us, and it tells our stories. Dance changes our lives.

Testimonials

It brought back memories of the body that I didn’t know were still there

Thank you for today’s session, you’ve created a safe and enjoyable environment for a varied group with ease. Brilliant.

Making connections with strangers and then moving together as friends. This experience is holistic and priceless.

So good to be feeling freer, more flexible and gaining strength again. My back is feeling less fragile and that is enough to make the rest of my body feel great.

My body is enjoying an awakening of movement memory – it’s a challenge, but brings mental and physical rewards.

No sooner had we started then it was time to finish – time just flew!

Harnisch-Lacey Dance is developing bespoke dance and health projects for all ages and abilities. Dance participation has many benefits. It not only develops ones creative self-expression, but it also can improve cardiovascular health, mobility and strength. Dancing can be particularly effective at improving physical and mental wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem.

In older people, regular dance activity can help maintain cognitive function, reduce cardiovascular risk and reduce the risk of falls. Participating in dance sessions provide a way for older people to be active, have fun and also engage socially with others.

Lately Harnisch-Lacey Dance has been running Healthy Creative Dance sessions for the over 60s exploring the connection of mind and body and its relevance to wellbeing and health.

Above & Beyond is a co-production project where the community of Penrhys (South Wales), artists and local partners aim to amplify local voices and help create a positive future for all. National Dance Company Wales is spearheading this ambitious project together with other local partners. This long-term project wants to contribute to a change in how residents live and express themselves through creativity, using the arts as a tool for self-empowerment and social change. The mission of Above & Beyond is to share tools and resources with the community of Penrhys through cultural activity.

Harnisch-Lacey Dance’s artistic director Sandra is a co-producer and has been one of the two lead artists in this project over the past three years, alongside Kyle Stead, a Performer and Theatre Maker based in Rhondda Cynon Taff.

One of the main focuses of the project is Amped Up Academy, a weekly after-school academy run by Sandra and Kyle where young people can experience arts their way – the sessions focus on dance, parkour and beat-boxing. Sandra also provides Healthy Movement, a dance session for older adults and a creative mother-and- toddler group.

This ambitious dance and health project has seen huge improvements in the confidence and aspirations of the young people of a community that is one of the most deprived areas in Wales. Physical and mental health improvements have also been noted in the adults who attend the weekly Healthy Movement sessions. Improvements in early years development have been observed through the provision of the mother and toddler group, where Sandra encourages active engagement and role modelling through creative and sensory approaches to foster strong infant and parent relationships.

The young people have not just learnt the transferable skills of focus and discipline. They have learnt to become musicians, performers and dancers. Most importantly, they have learnt the value of giving support and encouragement and dispensing kindness. Above & Beyond is showing evidence of fulfilling its mission to transform the community through a unique creative offer and has genuinely become a platform to amplify the voices and needs of those who live in Penrhys.

— Independent evaluator

Above & Beyond is making a huge difference to children and adults of our community of Penrhys. It’s wonderful to see the little ones having great fun, singing and making crafts with Sandra in the Babes & Tots Group. Our Gentle Dance Exercise Class is a real treat as it’s a pleasure to slow down and unwind in the middle of a busy day. It’s really good for our mental and physical health. The childrens’ after school workshops in school and at Llanfair are vitally important, especially as so many of these children and their families are experiencing difficulties in their everyday lives.

— Sharon Rees, Llanfair Church, lead partner

It’s fantastic as it gives the children something to focus on as when they are doing this, they feel pride, rather than getting into trouble and being bored around the streets. It’s great to see how much the children are waiting for Sandra and Kyle to arrive.

— Neil, Penrhys Community organiser and Volunteer

It’s the only thing I look forward to during the week!

— Participant, 6

This pilot project explored whether using creative methods such as music, movement, dance, and play can enhance the relationship and understanding of the non-verbal cues between a parent and their baby/infant.

Commissioned by Cwm Taf Morganwg Health board, Harnisch-Lacey Dance’s artistic director Sandra designed and delivered 8 music and movement sessions. Anna from Children in Wales provided expertise and input, Kate, from Resilient Families Service in Rhondda Cynon Taf, supported the project, Hannah from an Educational Psychology Service undertook an independent focus group, and Eleanor Brown from Harnisch-Lacey Dance contributed as a dance artist.

The evaluation process clearly demonstrated that, over the weeks, parents begun to differentiate between their enjoyment and their baby’s enjoyment as they learnt how to step back and look at their baby’s signals, cues and ‘voice’ through body language.

Parents’ feedback

Each week I got lots of new ideas on how to play and interact with my little one

This has given me confidence in what I can do with my baby at home

I learnt to understand when she is happy or sad and to listen to her cues

Healthy Creative Dance

I really enjoyed the sessions, and it didn’t just benefit my physical health but also my mental health. I struggle with my mental health and anxiety and for me to come on my own today, without my friend, says it all.

— Participant

Healthy Creative Dance has been part of WISE programme for over two years. Harnisch-Lacey Dance’s artistic director Sandra delivers sessions over the course of 8 weeks. Social engagement and connection are found. Throughout the course of the sessions, the participants delve deeper into the notion of contemporary dance as an embodied art form by exploring creative approaches through mirroring movement and using short creative stimuli to create movement themselves. A ‘before and after’ each session evaluation approach is adopted which indicates the positive effect of the dance provision on the physical body and the mood of the participants. All participants very much enjoy the sessions. Social engagement with each other and a sense of belonging develops and provides a safe space for the participants.

https://ctmuhb.nhs.wales/wise-ctm/

Participants’ feedback

I love the class

I am always so relaxed afterwards

I feel friendlier since coming to the class

It really benefits my mental health too

After the sessions I feel calmer, grounded, living in the moment, feeling taller in my body. Energy is flowing through my body

‘Lockdown Connections’ was created during the Covid-19 lockdown in March ’21 as a physical and creative response to the pandemic. Eight sessions were held via Zoom and each participant explored their own personal journey while finding connection with each other and finding connection of body and mind. This dance and health project focused on the physical and mental wellbeing of the over 60s and on combating social isolation.

It is through meaningful personal experiences of physical creative self-expression through contemporary dance, that my interest in the connection of arts and health started to develop. The power of creativity and embodied self-expression, which connects the creative self with the physical self, is what lies at the heart of my love for contemporary dance. Whether it’s working with the young or the young at heart – dance is a powerful tool to enhance physical and mental wellbeing in each and every one of us.

— Sandra Harnisch-Lacey

I have loved connecting with older people through dance and creativity

— Teenage participant

‘Belonging’ was an intergenerational dance and health project exploring the experiences of the Covid-19 lockdown. The project ran over four weeks and culminated in an outdoor performance for the residents at Cartref Care Home, Cardiff. Four ladies in their 60s and 70s and three teenagers met on Zoom exploring their personal lockdown stories through somatic improvisation, creative writing and art. The whole project was based on co-creation with the participants leading the trajectory of the discovery.

The project was of real benefit to the mental and physical wellbeing of the participants, connecting generations and providing a platform for the participants to find connection with each other and with their bodies. Contemporary dance, creative writing, and art were encountered as tools for creative self-expression to work through past lockdown experiences. All participants experienced physical and mental wellbeing and strong bonds between the generations were fostered. The teenagers felt encouraged and supported by the older women, who themselves were inspired by the youthful energy and enthusiasm of the girls. The qualitative and quantitative results of this research project indicate strongly that intergenerational dance projects can have wide-reaching positive impacts on well-being, social cohesion and social engagement.

I made new friends and connections with beautiful people and the high school girls have been an inspiration. I have totally enjoyed their energy and company.

— Participant

This project has been hugely helpful to me. I started this project with a clinical mental health disorder that left me feeling distressed and confused on a daily basis, but as the sessions went on, I felt myself becoming more mindful, centred and peaceful in my everyday life, not just during sessions. The somatic improvisation techniques that I learned in this project where honestly of the best things I had ever experienced. I felt so free and powerful and remembered why I loved dance in the first place.

— Participant