About Us

Dancemind was founded by

Tina Heeley

Tina is an experienced dance practitioner, producer, therapist and movement facilitator. She currently specialises in arts & health work promoting emotional, physical and mental well-being through the main medium of dance, movement & collaborative arts.

Tina’s deepest intuition was confirmed when she was studying for her degree in dance whilst also working for a mental health charity. She experienced first-hand the profound power of the arts in supporting people through life’s most challenging times. There was a deep desire to merge the two. This inspired Tina in investigate the intersection between the arts and health, facilitating movement exploration in a nurturing, explorative and creative way. Her aim was to support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals from diverse backgrounds and contexts. These included care homes, community and educational settings, hospices, hospitals, and mental health charities. As she witnessed the unfolding impact of her work, she recognised the limitless and universal nature of healing through creativity and the body. Over the years, this understanding has deepened, touching all levels of experience among participants.

Simultaneously, Tina delved into the depths of her human experience, thirsting for connectedness and new learning. This quest brought her towards therapy, and Tina embarked in understanding the deeper layers of human existence and healing by training as an Integrative therapist.

More and more, she senses that each of our lives is a journey of revelation and integration of many parts of us, using the body as a central part of the creative work.

Tina feels filled with gratitude for the people she gets to work with and continues to shape the work that is delivered today.

Dancemind also works with other incredible creative beings, so let’s introduce them…

*Artists and supporters that deliver the work for Dancemind hold a DBS check, public liability insurance, abide by Dancemind equal opportunities and protection of vulnerable adults policies, and regularly undertake relevant CPD to support the work.

Contributors

Meet our current contributors that support, advise and deliver the work for Dancemind. We value making our work as inclusive, accessible and valuable as possible, and we are always on the look out to work with people who can support and foster positive change within our communities through the arts.

Do get in touch if you would like to connect with us.

Lucy Knight

Lucy sits on our committee as well as being a dance artist for Dancemind. Lucy is Director of Barefooted Arts which produces and delivers a programme of work that aims to support and transform people’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life through the arts and creativity, and previously Co-Founder and Co-Director of Wriggle Dance Theatre,  who specialise in producing interactive dance performances for young children, their families and the older generations. As a dance artist Lucy teaches weekly to children and older people in education and care settings, and also co-delivers the Elders Dance Company with Tina Heeley.

Jo Dacombe

Jo Dacombe sits on our committee, and is an artist, writer and Arts and Heritage consultant. She has worked in the cultural sector for over 25 years, having worked with galleries such as Nottingham Contemporary and Attenborough Arts Centre, with cultural development agency ArtReach, with Leicestershire Museums and with the University of Leicester and of York. Her projects have won awards including from Arts & Business and a National Clore Award. Jo is based in Leicester and works nationally and occasionally internationally.

Dr Melinda Spencer

Dr Melinda Spencer supports Dancemind in researching and evaluating our project work, most recently the Elders Dance Company (see blog), and is Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for Joint Honours Health Studies at the University of Northampton. Since 2013, Melinda has taught on psychology undergraduate modules and presently leads and teaches on several undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Health Studies, Health Sciences, Sport and Psychology. Melinda has keen interest in ballet and contemporary dance, and was a member of the Northants Youth Contemporary Dance Group performing in various venues across the country.