Recently Dr Grace Tidmarsh had the pleasure of catching up with Dr Justine Anthony to talk about her research within health inequalities faced by those with severe mental illness, and helpful tips that you can use when thinking about physical activity in your own life. Dr Anthony (pictured below is an Early Career Fellow in the School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, at the University of Leicester. Her research considers the increased vulnerability of people with severe men

Introduction Dance research has traditionally emphasized physical technique, but the mental side of performance is just as critical. Confidence, focus, resilience, and emotional regulation can make the difference between a flawless performance and one overshadowed by anxiety. Our systematic review, which has just been published in BMJ Open ( https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/11/e104552 ) ,  synthesizes the available evidence on Mental Skills Training (MST)  in dance, using t

The Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology’s (DSEP) 2025 Annual Conference, themed “Beacons of Hope: Mapping the Value and Direction of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology” , is fast approaching. This year’s programme is full of research on  on well-being, identity, and systemic change in sport and performance contexts. The Sprint Project is excited to see several of our collaborators and team members contributing to this work. Various SPRINT project team members a

We are marking this year’s World Kindness Day  by preparing to launch some exciting and innovative research, that aims to promote psychologically safe, caring environments based on small acts of kindness.   Our upcoming study will explore the topic of compassion and mental health  in performance settings. Specifically, we are interested to hear how dancers  and athletes  experience compassion and how these experiences relate to mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Having th

I'm excited to share that I'll be presenting at the GAMeS International Conference for Mental Health and Sport this November in London. Our presentation, titled "Psychological Equity in Elite Sport: The Case for a Paralympic-Informed Mental Health Consensus Statement", celebrates the growing momentum in Paralympic mental health support and charts an exciting path forward. This work, co-authored with Dr Amanda Gatherer (UK Sports Institute), Professor Jennifer Cumming (Univers

‘I didn’t really have a teenage life. I never went to bars. I never had anything like that. It was always dance.’ -  Shirley Ballas on ‘We need to talk’ podcast   The life of a dancer can be very demanding, balancing training, rehearsals and performances with a ‘normal’ everyday life. High dedication to their craft can sometimes blur the boundaries between personal identity and the demands of the dance world. This often results in struggles with identity, both within and outs

Coaches in aesthetic sports like gymnastics, diving, and figure skating know the value of preparing athletes for the unique pressures of judged competition. Many already use simulation training to help athletes rehearse routines, manage nerves, and build composure. This blog post is not about starting from scratch. It’s about levelling up what you’re already doing, making simulation training even more effective, and leaving no stone unturned in your pursuit of helping athlete

Mental health in sport and dance is shaped by more than just individual traits or isolated experiences. It’s embedded in dynamic systems - relationships, environments, and timelines -that influence how athletes and dancers develop, cope, and thrive. At the upcoming British Psychological Society   Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology (DSEP) Annual Conference , the SPRINT project will explore this complexity through a symposium titled:  Expanding the Value of Systems Think

World Mental Health Day reminds us that mental well-being is a shared responsibility - one that spans disciplines, communities, and...

This month we are welcoming two new physiotherapy students, Jessica and Ivan, on their research placement with the SPRINT Project, as...

We’re excited to share that SPRINT Project researcher Dr Georgia Bird has been awarded a Centre-UB Fellowship , supporting a new...

Mental health is increasingly recognised as a core component of performance, wellbeing, and safeguarding in sport and dance. While awareness has grown, the challenge remains in translating research into practice. MST4Life™ (Mental Skills Training for Life) is one programme that demonstrates how mental health research projects in sport psychology can be applied to support young people in meaningful, community-based ways.

Dance and sport are contexts where individuals and groups perform, often to a high standard and under both internal and external...

Mental skills aren’t just for elite performers, they’re for everyone navigating pressure, recovery, learning, or leadership. At The SPRINT Project, we’ve curated a rich collection of blogs, toolkits, and academic resources to help you explore mental skills like goal-setting, imagery, emotional regulation, and resilience. This interactive hub offers practical tools and reflective insights to support wellbeing and inclusive practice.

We’re delighted to share that Professor Jennifer Cumming will be speaking at the upcoming Dancing My Mind conference in Stockholm on 10–11 October 2025

In the pursuit of peak performance, athletes push their bodies to the limit. But when energy intake consistently falls short of training demands, the consequences can be devastating. Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) is a serious condition that disrupts nearly every physiological system, impairing performance, increasing injury risk, and jeopardising long-term health. For coaches, recognizing the warning signs and addressing RED-S proactively is essential.

This blog explores how participatory safeguarding can transform dance spaces, and how creative feedback methods can help build a culture of trust, inclusion, and shared responsibility.

Despite increasing recognition of mental health as a critical component of athlete wellbeing, help-seeking remains a complex and underutilised behaviour within sport contexts. A recently published scoping review in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine synthesises findings from 104 peer-reviewed studies to examine the multifaceted factors influencing athletes’ decisions to seek psychological support. The review highlights a persistent tension between the cultural norms of high-p

This blog introduces you to 7 simple, body-based strategies that dancers can use to manage nerves and enhance performance readiness.

Three creative, strengths-based activities for dance organisations to embed in their curriculum or training enviornments. As part of a whole-organisational approach to safeguarding, these activities will help to create a safe space for dancers to explore what safety means to them, and for organisations to listen, reflect, and respond.