Teachers, principals, statistics… all agree: anxiety and stress are more present than before among young people at school. From small non-profit organizations to big names on the scene, like the Twins, many are now offering workshops to help with the mental health of young people using dance.
“We were already offering workshops on mental health before the pandemic, but the demand has multiplied since,” explains Marie-France Jacques, speaker and coordinator of the program Preventing violence and delinquency through the art of dance at Prima. Dance. For five years now, Marie-France Jacques has been working with this non-profit organization that combines her passion for dance, but also for psychology. “Before falling in love with dance, I wanted to study psychology,” says the graduate of the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. Giving workshops with a social purpose was exactly in line with my interests. »
Today, Prima Danse offers four social intervention programs through dance on various social issues in addition to mental health, intended for young people, in schools and community settings: self-affirmation, gender stereotypes, representation of sexuality media, violence prevention and bullying awareness. Each workshop lasts between 60 and 90 minutes and is supervised by two speakers. Depending on the setting, one or more sessions may be offered. “We always start with a discussion to address the social issue in question, then we link it to dance,” says Ms.me Jacques. For example, to talk about gender stereotypes, we ask them to make a creation to break a cliché, so it makes them think. For the prevention of violence, we have a speaker from the hip-hop community who comes to explain that street dances were created to channel violence. »
The Twins, masters of the famous dance show Revolution and dancers from Beyonce, launched their Let’s Dance for Mental Health program last November. “We’ve always done this kind of thing, but there, we put a name on it,” says Larry Bourgeois. We want to share as much as possible. We were already working in hospitals or in places where people have little money. The Twins have partnered with the Kids Write Network to intervene in schools across North America. “The idea is for young people to be able to pass on their history, their experience through a song that picks them up,” explains Laurent Bourgeois. Indeed, for the twins, the expression by the body is as “strong as that of the words”. “I breathe like I dance, I speak with my body. It’s not something I learned, everyone knows how to do it, but you have to give yourself the freedom to express yourself in this way, explains Larry. I have achieved many things in life thanks to the movements, I have also managed to make myself understood more physically than verbally. With Let’s Dance for Mental Health, Larry and Laurent hope to give hope to the children “so that they continue to be on the right road, to pursue their dreams”.
Benefits seen…
“Teachers very often tell us that they see their student in a new light. For example, a young person who usually has difficulty concentrating and there, during the workshop, he really lets himself go in improvisation, says Marie-France Jacques. We see very embarrassed young people gaining confidence in a dance circle. Also, a lot of bonds are created during the exchange and it then continues in class and in the playground. »
To confirm these effects, Prima Danse conducted surveys and focus groups with 1,000 participants between 2015 and 2022. “85% of young people say they have developed better self-esteem through Prima Danse workshops, 90% confirm that they have forged positive ties and developed a sense of belonging, 87% have discovered the pleasure of movement and have continued to adopt a healthy lifestyle after Prima Danse”, lists Mme Jacques.
Same evidence on the side of the Twins. “We make them realize things, we open a door for them,” they explain. Because, in their program, the two brothers want to show that an artistic career is possible, but also to re-motivate young people, to reduce school dropouts.
This is precisely what Angélique Dumet-Kerherno has been doing for almost three years. A former university professor of economics and management in France, she decided to “go fully” into dance when she arrived in Montreal. Through her master’s degree in dance at UQAM, she discovered somatic education. “It’s well-being through movement,” she explains. We learn how to rehabilitate through movement. I had the feeling that we could go even further with dance, so I wanted to dig into it. In 2019, she then enrolled in the dance therapy program of Les Grands Ballets. His goal: to heal through movement. “I already believed in the benefits of dance therapy, but what I felt during the training was impressive. It showed me that with movement, with dance, we can find feelings, feelings buried in the memory of our body, things we are not aware of and that we can explore, “says she.
… and proven
Since the beginning of her training, Angélique Dumet-Kerherno has taught different types of audiences: the elderly, primary and secondary school students, young immigrants, homeless women, autistic students… And, whatever her “clientele” , she notices positive effects from the third session, but after 8 to 12 sessions of dance therapy, as it is recommended to follow, these effects are “anchored in the body and the spirit”.
“I work a lot on group cohesion because if you don’t feel good in a community, you can’t develop, evolve, really become who you are,” says M.me Dumet-Kerherno. In addition, she notices an increase in self-confidence during her sessions. “In some classes, very isolated young people, who dared not move, ended up dancing in the middle of a circle, in front of everyone, it’s beautiful to see”, continues the one who aims to obtain an American certification, because there is not yet an equivalent in Canada. According to her, dance therapy also instills perseverance. “This approach allows them to try and try again,” she says. I use dance to get everything someone needs to persevere and express themselves. The students give themselves the chance to try, to believe in it, so they can reproduce it in other spheres of their lives. »
“It is the only activity where you are asked to situate yourself in space, in time, while moving and following a rhythm, being aware of your body, but also of others”, explains Angélique Dumet-Kerherno. . For her, dance is an effective and documented way to treat “everyday ailments”.
In fact, by working directly with bodily sensations and movement, dance therapy can modify the somatosensory cortex involved in illnesses such as depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders, according to research by the professor of psychology at the Bishop Adrianna Mendrek University. A recent study targeting people with Parkinson’s disease also demonstrated that dance interventions can have positive effects on psychological health by leading to significant reductions in symptoms of depression and anxiety.