Conscious Dance and Expressive Arts @ SMARTLab

Many students are experiencing significant mental health challenges and a lack of social connection because of the pandemic and remote learning. Dr. Smart was inspired to draw on her research on self-regulation, and also her background as an artist, to offer something fun and beneficial for the campus community. Specifically, we are going to be offering conscious dance and expressive arts sessions.

Dance is a word that makes a lot of people cringe. Did you know there is even a dance phobia, known as “chorophobia“?? Yet dance has many things in its favor, including:
* body and brain benefits of exercise
* collective joy, and
* connection and co-regulation with others

Conscious dance is a specific type of dance. Put simply, it’s about being mindful of your body while moving to music – moving exactly how it feels good for you to move. There is no choreography or skill involved. It’s about learning how to pay attention to your body – interoceptive awareness – and to feel good while doing it. It has nothing to do with how it looks, and everything to do with how it feels. Take a look at this short film we created where you can hear directly from students about their experience conscious dancing with Dr. Smart.

If you are interested to have fun, let go, and connect with other students, see below for the offerings our lab will be sponsoring. Aside from a lifelong background in music, Dr. Smart brings 20+ years experience practicing and teaching mindfulness, and almost 10 years of dance training. She is trained as a conscious dance facilitator for outreach populations through Dance Your Ability, and is also trained as a Therapeutic Arts Master Practitioner through the Canadian International Institute of Art Therapy. Note – these activities are not psychotherapy or a substitute for therapy, but are intended to promote wellness, enjoyment, and peer connection.

All of the proceeds from these groups will be donated to our community partner, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness (GVCEH) – specifically, their Youth and Arts fund. The GVCEH is developing a youth enterprise model to empower young people currently affected by homelessness or transitioning out of care. This model will not only provide housing and social supports, but also put youth at the center of decision-making and programming. Youth experiencing homelessness are also at risk for mental health challenges, and creativity and artistic expression have been identified as areas of interest for their growth and healing. So it seems very fitting that we will donate proceeds of our groups to this worthwhile cause. To learn more about the work of the GVCEH, go to: https://victoriahomelessness.ca/.