When does dance stop being good for us? What elite dance teaches us about health-promoting environments. Dance is widely recognised as a powerful contributor to health and wellbeing. Yet the picture becomes more complicated when we turn our attention to pre-professional and professional dancers. This post explores five ways high-performance environments can undermine health and outlines the SHAPE framework for creating mentally healthier dance cultures.

Safeguarding in dance has never been more important. Although research into abuse in dance remains limited compared with sport, abuse in dance is significantly under researched. This lack of evidence is concerning in itself because it means harmful practices can remain hidden, unchallenged and poorly understood.