a breathing space project - for women and girls tackling social isolation, mental health & wellbeing.

In the Autumn of 2021 Dance Centred ran Wonder Women, a community project with dance at its heart exploring what it's like to be a woman or girl. Our aim was to provide opportunities for girls and women to come together in a safe, welcoming and supportive space to enjoy being creative and physically active together through dance.

The project came about as a result of a multi-agency Clays Lockdown Community Support meeting that had identified a lack of provision in wellbeing support for women. They had heard about our dance for well-being project in Bodmin called Breathing Space and felt there was a real need for similar work in the Bugle and Stenalees area.

Following a process of consultation and dance taster sessions, we ran a series of dance classes and workshops in local schools, at Bugle Methodist Hall and Treverbyn Hall.

All the sessions ran on a donation-only basis – just pay what you can if you can. This was made possible with funding from partners FEAST Cornwall, Hall For Cornwall, Cornwall Community Fund and Headstart with in kind support from Treverbyn Community Hall.

We were delighted to collaborate with artist Antonia Eden, who supported media graduate Grace Toumi and created a beautiful Wonder Women sound installation and film. The project culminated in an intergenerational event at Treverbyn Hall where Antonia and Grace shared their work.