In 2019, the SPCPN came into existence as a partnership between Emma Meehan (Coventry University) and Bernie Carter (Edge Hill University). After several years of collaborations and outreach, a formal board was formed in 2022 of practitioners, researchers, lived experience experts, and other individuals from around the world. This year, a global recruitment call for new board members was made, which resulted in the addition of six new members:
- Elena Catalano
- Louis Green
- Benjamin Hickman
- Ana Leitão
- Dieter Rehberg
- Adriane Vieira
To welcome our new board members, we would like to briefly introduce a bit about them in this blog post!
Elena Catalano is a Senior Lecturer in Dance at Kingston University of London and Founder/Artistic Director of Bhumi Odissi Dance Academy. Her research focuses on ‘the lived experience of training in Indian classical dance, employing a somatic and qualitative approach.’ More broadly, Elena is interested in ‘how arts and creative practices can support health and wellbeing’ and ‘supporting people who live with chronic fatigue or pain and raising awareness of the psychological and social impact of hidden disabilities.’
Louis Green is a Doctoral researcher in Dance and Somatic Practices at University of Roehampton with a background in dance science. He brings valuable previous experience in marketing and communications for arts and higher education combined with his expertise as a somatic practitioner and content creator. Louis strongly believes in the power of social media and other online platforms for ‘bringing people into research and to making research more accessible.’
Benjamin Hickman is an Associate Lecturer in Exercise Physiology with the UNSW Sydney Lifestyle Clinic who brings a mix of expertise as a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist, educator and researcher. His research has included ‘work towards a participant-informed dance program for chronic pain management’ and he is generally ‘committed to translating evidence into accessible, person-centred movement approaches that are relevant to both practitioners and people living with persistent pain.’
Ana Leitão is a researcher at INET-md and a PhD candidate in Dance at the University of Lisbon. She has a background in community dance, contemporary dance and dance/movement therapy as an artist, educator, choreographer, and organizer. Ana is dedicated to exploring ‘how dance and somatic approaches can foster awareness, relationality, care and meaningful exchange across artistic, educational and community contexts.’ She is also President/Creator of the TUDANZAS cultural organisation and festival.
Dieter Rehberg is the Director of the Somatic Training Academy and collaborated with the SPCPN prior to joining the board. As an educator, therapist and researcher with a dance and performance arts background, Dieter has been ‘exploring how dance and somatic practices can function as processes of healing.’ His research ‘focuses on first-person inquiry and the articulation of subtle, lived experience.’ Dieter also has experience with communication, social media, and podcast production.
Adriane Vieira is an Associate Professor in the Physical Therapy Program and Graduate Program in Human Movement Sciences at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Brazil. Her background in dance, physiotherapy, and somatic education inform her perspective on pain as ‘as a complex, multifactorial experience shaped by psychological, social, and cultural dimensions.’ She is ‘motivated by approaches that foster dialogue, critical thinking, and embodied learning’ and continues to conduct research combining art, health, and education.
We have also recruited new ‘Associates’ of the network, who we will introduce in a future post.
