About us
Move Dance Feel is a creative community. Our mission is to address inequality in cancer care by making dance available to all women living with and beyond cancer. We also welcome women supporting someone with cancer or grieving a loved one.
Whatever your walk of life, we offer a connecting and artistic experience. We understand that when you have cancer, or you are supporting somebody you love with cancer, it’s a challenging time. It’s the non-stop hospital visits, the impact on confidence and self-esteem, and perhaps the loneliness of knowing that others just can’t quite understand how you are feeling. Move Dance Feel unites women affected by cancer through dance. Guided by professionals, our activities help you to re-discover yourself, open up to new possibilities, and find a renewed sense of joy in the body.
Move Dance Feel is a registered Community Interest Company. In 2021 our Founder, Emily Jenkins, was selected as a National Lottery Award Winner in the category of Art, Culture and Film, and listed as 1 of ‘10 ordinary people who made 2021 extraordinary’ by Positive News magazine.
FIND OUT MORE…
READ our case study on the UK’s National Centre for Creative Health website.
LISTEN to us on UK Health Radio with Yes to Life charity.
WATCH an interview between our Founder, Emily, and Professor Gunnar Bjursell - Director of The Cultural Brain Initiative at Karolinksa Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
“I have come to realise that a woman is most empowered when she has at least one woman who believes in her and supports her unconditionally.”
Why dance?
As well as supporting general health through the physicality of dance, this experience is all about evoking curiosity and offering the tools you need to reconnect and reinvent. Dancing is powerful in its ability to help us feel connected, move through limiting beliefs, and find relief from the seriousness of cancer.
We use dance and movement to build a real sense of community, whilst offering a creative outlay that helps us women to reconnect with our bodies – whether just been diagnosed, undergoing treatment or post-treatment. Move Dance Feel provides an effective means of improving, and maintaining, our individual and collective wellbeing.
Click on the images below to download our handout - please share to help more women to find us!
“Move Dance Feel is an incredibly strong example of creative activity supporting health and wellbeing. There is robust evaluation for this work but it is the personal testimonies which are most powerful. Although aimed at women affected by cancer this is somewhere the diagnosis can be left at the door.”
See for yourself…
How can I take part?
Regular sessions are available online via zoom. As we accommodate a nationwide community, of mixed abilities, online sessions enable women to take part from the comfort of their own homes, without geographical or logistical barriers.
We also work closely with cancer support or dance organisations and provide in person activity at their centres. Activity ranges from a small series of workshops and one day events, to weekend and weeklong retreat programmes. You can find out more on our Take Part page, and sign up to our mailing list or follow us on social media to be kept informed about upcoming activities.
Is it right for me?
No prior dance experience is necessary, and there are no requirements in terms of physical ability or energy levels to take part. It really is for all women affected by cancer (any type of cancer, at any stage), whatever your situation. Including those supporting someone with cancer.
Move through gentle warm-up explorations, and meet others via creative exchange. Learn expressive dance phrases - tailored to everyone's pace. Connect with your energy and strength (seated and standing options are offered). Take time out to relax, reflect and share experiences. Our dance artist facilitators are specialised in contemporary and community dance practice, and skilled in creating safe environments.
There is a great deal of evidence showing the benefits of Move Dance Feel. And if you’d like to read more about that you can do so here. For us it’s the personal testimonies that are the most fulfilling, with our participants telling us of friendships gained and renewed body confidence – along with a true sense of belonging, and (of course!) improved physical and mental wellbeing.
