How dancing can support mental wellbeing

It’s mental health awareness week

This week, the 8th to 14th May, is Mental Health Awareness Week which aims to educate and increase awareness on mental wellbeing. So we thought it would be fitting to look back on some of the work Ludus Dance has done to support children and young people with mental health difficulties.

How Ludus Dance has supported mental health awareness

Back in 2016, we received a grant of £7,557 to run a project, called State of FLUX. The project involved three professional artists (dance, music and film) working in partnership with ‘The Junction, CAMHS Tier 4’ mental health unit in Lancaster.  The unit provides in-patient treatment for young people aged between 13 and 18 from Cumbria, Lancashire. The project ran for 12-weeks, and provided a safe creative outlet for young people, experiencing severe and distressing thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Working with children and young people

The young people learned how the arts can be used to explore identity and individuality, whilst also learning the basics of filmmaking, music and dance. They used these new skills to develop their own short ‘Vines’, a popular means of visual online communication. The project ended in an exhibition in Lancaster, showcasing the young people’s work.

The impact

The social impact of the arts can support re-integration to educational provision, community activities and improve interpersonal effectiveness by helping to develop. The young people involved said it had helped them gain confidence, communication and team working skills, self-motivation as well as a more positive outlook.

Watch some of the videos below that were made by the young people who took part in the project, and please donate if you would like to help us continue more work like this in the future.