icandance - creative opportunities for disabled children and young people - Camden Rise

icandance is a creative, therapeutic community that celebrates and empowers disabled children and young people, aged four to 25, through dance and performance.

Their weekly programmes - on Thursdays and Saturdays - provide dance accessibility for all, which enriches lives, connects communities, and celebrates difference.

Each child participating is unable to attend mainstream dance classes due to their level of learning, physical, social, and emotional needs requiring specialised support. The charity's intensive sessions are tailored to the needs of each dancer and the trained icandance team of therapists and disability specialists support each child and young person to explore how their body moves and feels, enabling them to create connections and discover their potential.

Their distinctive approach incorporates elements from dance movement psychotherapy, traditional dance teaching methods and special educational needs techniques. All lead facilitators are skilled dance movement psychotherapists. 

The benefits of dance are universal, but they are especially powerful for young people with disabilities. Dance offers opportunities to experience the wonder of creativity, the freedom of expression and the joy of social connection. It improves physical fitness, develops gross motor skills, relieves stress and anxiety, and encourages imagination. Dance offers those with disabilities an opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings without words, and helps them to build friendships, develop confidence, and gain new skills. 

icandance have been working successfully with multiple SEND schools and colleges, delivering weekly therapeutic group sessions and they welcome referrals, as well as commissions to work with a school and organise sessions based on the school’s needs. They also deliver informative talks, presentations and performances along with some of their young ambassadors and dancers to discuss icandance activities and their impact further. 

Additionally, icandance offers:

• Psychotherapeutic interventions: weekly individual Dance Movement Psychotherapy for disabled children/young people, twice termly Parent Therapy groups supporting parents as they navigate the challenges and joys of raising a disabled child
• Community training: offering both in-person and online learning to facilitate knowledge exchange between families, team members and professionals

For further details and to organise any of the above options please email [email protected] or [email protected]