SALLY x Nederlandse Dansdagen
Focus Day Dance & Health
A day when we not only discuss the significance of dance for health and well-being, but also experience and explore it for ourselves. Drawing on a variety of perspectives—from dance and culture to healthcare and policy—we will seek out new insights, connections, and possibilities.
Program overview
Plenary
- 10.00 -10.30h Doors open
- 10.30 -11.30h Opening & Lecture
- 11.45 -13.00h Work session – Dans, cultuur, zorg & beleid
13.00 -13.45h Networking lunch (can be ordered separately)
Program A – Dance and mental health
- 13.45 -14.45h IKoon – interactive presentation
- 15.00 -16.30h Moving Kinship – choreografic encounter
Program B – Dance and the healthcare demand in Limburg
- 13.45 -14.45h Dans op Recept – workshop
- 15.00 -16.30h Dans en de Zorgvraag in Limburg – work session
*When you register, you’ll choose the plenary program and either Program A or B. You can add a networking lunch to your registration. There is a fee for this.
- Thursday 8 October
- 10:00 - 16:30
- Location
- Theater aan het Vrijthof
- Accessibility
- Language no problem
- Wheelchair user
- Disabled
- Tickets
- Admission to this event is free. Registration required.
Plenary program
Prikkeltalk by the Schweigman& Theater Company
The day begins with an inspiring lecture that explores the theme of dance and mental health from an in-depth perspective. What significance can dance have for our mental well-being, and what role can movement, the body, and artistic practices play in that?
Work session – Dans, cultuur, zorg & beleid
What’s happening in the realm of mental health, and specifically regarding the mental well-being of young people? Where can we, as the cultural sector, make an impact, and where are there still unmet needs and opportunities?
In this interactive workshop, we’ll bring together professionals from the fields of culture, healthcare, and policy. Using various interventions, we’ll explore current trends, identify key issues, and discover where there’s room for new connections. Organizations such as SALLY and Cultuurmakers Maastricht will contribute their practical insights to this collaborative exploration
IKoon - interactive presentation
13.45 - 14.45h
How can dance contribute to mental well-being? During this interactive presentation, Introdans and Pro Persona will share their experiences with IKoon, a project within the Dance and Well-Being program. IKoon - Interactive Presentation
Choreographer Adriaan Luteijn and professionals from Pro Persona take participants on a journey both on and behind the scenes of IKoon. Through stories, examples, and interactive elements, we’ll explore together what can emerge when the worlds of dance and mental health care intersect.
Moving Kinship – choreografic encounter
15.00 - 16.30h
How can we listen through the body, experience differences, and create space for care and connection?
Feminist choreographer, researcher, and psychotherapist Beatrice Allegranti, together with dance artists Grace Bellel and Job Cornelissen, invites participants to a 90-minute choreographic encounter.
Through four choreographic encounters—Listening, Witnessing, Difference, and Repair—participants explore what bodies know, communicate, and can carry together. Movement, writing, conversation, and embodied reflection come together in a session that explores how choreography can contribute to well-being, participation, and relational connection.
The session is based on Moving Kinship®, an intersectional-feminist choreographic methodology that brings together embodied research, relational practice, and social justice.
Everyone is welcome to participate; no prior dance experience is necessary.
Dans op Recept – workshop
13.45 - 14.45h
What options are there when exercise isn't a given?
In this hands-on workshop, Dans op Recept demonstrates how dance can bring joy, relaxation, and connection to people living with chronic conditions. Professional dance instructors use music and movement, focusing on possibilities rather than limitations.
The workshop aligns with the practice of Dans op Recept, which offers dance classes for people with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, acquired brain injury, chronic pain, MS, and dementia, among others. Caregivers are also welcome.
Dans en de Zorgvraag in Limburg – work session
15.00 - 16.30h
In Limburg, more and more initiatives are emerging that bring dance and healthcare together. In this workshop, we’ll bring together cultural institutions, dance organizations, healthcare professionals, venues, and other stakeholders.
What initiatives already exist? What can we learn from one another? Where are the opportunities for collaboration, and what is needed to further develop valuable dance projects and embed them sustainably in Limburg’s healthcare and wellness landscape?
A collaborative exploration in which we share knowledge and experiences, build connections, and explore how we can further strengthen the power of dance in healthcare and well-being.
This focus day is being developed in collaboration with SALLY Dansgezelschap Maastricht and is part of their DESIRE project. This project is supported by the European Union and the “People to People” Small Project Fund under Interreg Maas-Rijn (NL-BE-DE).
