Ballet as a therapy. Being in the moment of the dance.
How many of you know someone who is suffering from depression or a stress related illness? Either we don’t talk about it because we are afraid to be seen as vulnerable, or there is nobody around that wants to understand. Where are the events and platforms that we can access outside the medical world? Why should we be seen as sick, or be given medication to dull our senses instead of finding a new way to deal with our stress and depression?
5 years ago I received a kidney transplant from my Mother, a second go at life was gifted, yet even so many more operations followed up until two and a half years ago. I was very low and depressed and found it very hard to talk to anyone else, mostly as I didn’t want to bring anyone down to my level or even worse receive sympathy. There was nowhere to go and no way out, until I read an article by a pioneering young psychiatrist from Arizona University called Dr. Stelzer. This remarkable woman had been researching the positive impact of bouldering as a therapy for those with depression and anxiety. Through being in the moment and active surrounded by socially positive environment, experienced a rapid improvement in their mental health. Here is the link to her findings:
https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/bouldering-envisioned-new-treatment-depression
I tried and to my utter astonishment, my mental health improved dramatically and felt immediately inspired to help others reach the same measure of success! Once recovery was well under way I researched other urban sports or complementary holistic that keep us in the moment, that are non-competitive and open to every gender and size. A new world opened up before me. A wealth of newly emerging trends such as slacklining, parkour, acro-yoga, as well as alternative therapies including dance therapy, life coaching and mindfulness are taking the country and world by storm. Yet to my astonishment no events or online platforms offered these activities that “Keep you in the moment” under one roof!
So the concept of London Urban Games was born! An event and online platform that will provide access, not only into the urban sports as mentioned, but also; empowerment cinema, life coaching workshops, social meeting spots to share stories both online and offline. It’s time to unite the community of change makers. Where depression and stress no longer has to be a taboo or a weakness. Here we can celebrate a new approach fit for the 21st century. Providing us the tools not only to rise above depression and stress, but to thrive in every aspect of our lives alongside others. No longer will be alone in our suffering or feel ashamed to admit what we are going through. London Urban Games is the first of what will become a nationwide event and online platform. Why? Because it’s not just a London problem it’s a city problem we are facing around the world. The problem we are facing is massive, and we require a massive solution to tackle it head on.
Ballet has become a new therapy, that will feature in London Urban Games, thanks to meeting Gloria, World Ballet founder, who opened my eyes to the benefits of dance and ballet as a therapy, with regards to stress and mental health. Through being in the moment of the dance, one can escape all thoughts of the day, those bills that need paying, or stress at work. For those moments of dance one is free to embrace each posture, leaving the mind and entering the body. For those that are not into the sports we are offering, Urban Balance Zone offers another option for you.
With depression affecting over 10% of the world’s population (only those that are registered), 1 in 4 suffering from anxiety based illnesses and suicide being the second highest cause of death amongst the 16-25 age group I found it utterly outrageous and irresponsible that no events offered the youth and adults access into these pioneering activity based therapies. Its time a central platform both online and offline was created to for everyone to access solutions, a platform for the 21st century.
London Urban Games is being designed by leading architects from Architecture Association, who specialise in designing spaces for mental health. The event will consist of zones designed to connect local urban sporting and holistic therapies to participants, supported by brands that connect to each specific zone. The zone you may find compelling is the urban balance zone, where we will offer access into dance therapy in the form of contemporary ballet, as well as acro-yoga (partner yoga) pilates, and workshops on mindfulness as well as life coaching.
London Urban Games first event is happening in January 2019 (details to come soon) in a major London Venue.
Charlie Anderson
Founder
London Urban Games CIC
You can register for London Urban Games here:https://www.urbangames.org.uk/retreats
Pic. by KCBalletMedia - Kansas City Ballet Dancers Whitney Huell and Lamin Pereira dos Santos rehearse Edwaard Liang's "Wunderland"
