Dance & Mental Health in Schools
11 October 2018In partnership with the Co-operative Academies Trust, we developed a bespoke project, exploring our outdoor work Witness This and its connection to mental health and wellbeing. The project aimed to explain mental health issues, encourage discussion and reduce the stigma attached to mental illness.
The project offered 100 Key Stage 3 pupils from three Manchester Secondary Co-operative Academies and 240 KS2 pupils from four Leeds Primary Co-operative Academies the opportunity to watch a live performance of Witness This before taking part in creative workshops that explored the themes of the work.
Each school then created its own works in response, with pupils expressing their thoughts surrounding mental health. Teachers used a resource pack to explore the work and its core themes, as well as a toolkit to feed into their own creations.
The project culminated by bringing the academies together to perform alongside the professional company for an audience of family and friends, captured in the below film.
If you’re interested in hosting a Witness This: Dance & Mental Health Project within your school, contact: sam@companychameleon.com.