Quantifying Psychological Wellbeing in Dance

Stance on Dance

An Interview with Dr. Moitree Banerjee, Dr. Lucie Clements, Kathleen McGuire Gaines, and Erin Sanchez

By Emmaly Wiederholt

Awareness of mental health and wellbeing within the dance field is growing, as well as an anecdotal understanding that many dancers face mental health challenges throughout their careers. Unfortunately, the evidence is currently extremely limited, which means that funding for increased support, education, and policy development are difficult to justify. That’s why psychologists Dr. Lucie Clements and Dr. Moitree Banerjee at the University of Chichester have partnered with Erin Sanchez at One Dance UK and the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science and Kathleen Gaines at Minding the Gap to carry out a research project across the entire dance sector to establish an evidence base about the psychological wellbeing and mental health needs of dance students and professionals. Here, they talk about why their research is much needed, some of their methodology, some unexpected demographic findings, and how they hope to apply their work toward bettering mental health across the dance field.