Mental Health in High-Level Dance: Prof Jennifer Cumming to Speak at Dancing My Mind Conference

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. This exciting two-day event explores how dance affects the brain across the lifespan, from childhood to older adulthood, through a rich programme of lectures, workshops, and expert panels.

Jennifer’s talk, titled “Behind the Curtain: Mental Health in High-Level Dance”, will delve into the growing recognition of mental health challenges in elite dance. Drawing on current research, she will explore why so many dancers may silently struggle, whether the very qualities that support high performance can also undermine wellbeing, and what we can do, individually and collectively, to better prevent mental illness and support mental health in high-performance environments.

The conference is a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet, Balettakademien, and the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, and promises to be a vibrant and interdisciplinary gathering of researchers, educators, and practitioners.

We’re also proud to highlight that Dr Sanna Nordin-Bates, one of the conference organisers, is an affiliate member of The SPRINT Project and author of Essentials of Dance Psychology. Sanna is internationally recognised for her research on psychological aspects of dance training and performance, and her involvement ensures the event will be both scientifically rigorous and practically relevant.

Click to watch a video overview of the Dancing My Mind conference

Early bird registration is open until 31 August:

• One-day pass: 800 SEK

• Two-day pass: 1200 SEK

From 1st September:

• One-day pass: 1000 SEK

• Two-day pass: 1500 SEK

To register and more information about speakers and the full schedule: https://www.folkuniversitetet.se/kurser-utbildningar/dans-musik-teater/dans/danshalsa/stockholm/72765/

We look forward to seeing many of you there and continuing the conversation about how dance and psychology can work together to support healthy development, performance, and wellbeing.