Movement for Mind
Movement for Mind is Company Chameleon’s unique and tailorable movement & mental health project for secondary schools in partnership with Manchester based young people’s mental health charity, 42nd Street. The project supports young people experiencing mental health difficulties, including those on the waiting list / accessing Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and those at risk of needing support.
Across the six-week project, the identified young people take part in movement sessions and a creative process which encourages self-reflection, enhances physical well-being, improves communication, and provides a safe space for young people to share, reflect and work towards better mental health. At the beginning of the project, the young people involved, experience a live performance of Company Chameleon’s, Witness This, a dance piece which turns the spotlight on mental health and which brings a professional work into a school setting.
“I’ve felt low since year 7, and I struggle to communicate it. I talked to a therapist, but it wasn’t useful, but this [Movement for Mind] is helping” – Participant, Movement for Mind
Reflecting on the project, Sam Broadbent, Learning & Participation Manager said: “Company Chameleon have been exploring how dance can support mental health and wellbeing for several years but our experience of delivering Movement for Mind has surpassed our expectations of what can be achieved. In six short weeks, we have witnessed the young people involved grow in confidence and self-belief, finding new connections, friendships and support. The project has offered the young people involved the space and time to discuss their mental health and the chance to explore their thoughts and feelings through movement and dance. Dance as an art form offers a non-verbal way of communicating, using our bodies to express what our words sometimes cannot. It has been truly wonderful to support the young people involved to find this new way of communicating and to witness them using dance as an outlet to share and express.”
Movement for Mind is funded by The Baring Foundation. We are working with the #BeeWell programme to identify schools to take part across Greater Manchester between 2023-26.
To find out more or to register your school’s interest in hosting Movement for Mind, contact: sam@companychameleon.com