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Sydney Mello – a senior majoring in both Dance & Performance Studies and Public Health – had come to Professor Cathy Nicoli a year ago with the desire to research how her passion for dance and interest in public health might professionally intersect.  So, the two started crafting a proposal for an interdisciplinary independent study that would both be fascinating for Mello to work on – while also helping her to gain more research skills in her two complementary fields.

Once Nicoli and Mello’s course proposal:  Public Health and Dance:  Equalizing the Stage for Physical and Mental Health received an enthusiastic thumbs-up by Dean Jeffrey Meriwether of the Feinstein School of Humanities, Arts, and Education; the two set to work on crafting a syllabus to guide Mello on her independent research regarding mind-body connectivity, the links between embodiment practices and one’s overall health and happiness, and how dance actively nurtures the two through its physical and creative processes. 

As a dancer and dance teacher herself, Mello had both experienced and witnessed first-hand the holistic health effects of dance on people’s bodies, minds, and spirits – not only as individuals, but also socially within the dynamic bonds and communities often nurtured by dance practice.  Wanting to study this correlation was the catalyst for Mello’s research goals; here is a sample of her own words from her independent study proposal:

The mind and body are partners within life’s dance.  We are made to move and learn; we thrive and grow when we exercise our bodies and brains.  With this understanding, I will investigate movement’s effect on one’s mental and physical health.  I plan to research and develop movement practices that can contribute to greater well-being in various populations, despite some common challenges that they face. The primary outcome of my independent study will be to create a curriculum of sorts, to propose ways that various populations could implement movement and somatic awareness into their lives to improve their health holistically.

After discussing Mello’s concerns and observations about the state of public health and the need for people to feel more embodied in a world that has become more and more virtualized and less communal, Professor Nicoli encouraged Mello to research and develop a movement practice curriculum to target the following research bullets:

• Seniors:  The Fight for Purpose While Dealing with Immobility Issues and Loneliness.
   
• Middle-Aged Adults:  Overworked In-Betweens Caring for Parents and Children While at the Pinnacle of a Stressful Career.
   
• Young Adults:  Finding Independence in an Increasingly Complicated and Body-Objectifying / Comparative World.
   
• Children:  Increasingly Stressed and Anxious, Static Classrooms, and Diminishing Access to Recess and the Arts.
   
• Dancers with Developmental Disabilities:  Accessibility, How to Dance in the Field – Not an Isolation Bubble.
   
• Researcher’s Challenge:  Conquering One’s Social Media Vampires with Physical Training and Meditation Practices – Ideas for Everyday Settings.

The outcome of one’s authentic work always comes to fruition:  This week, Sydney Mello had great news for Professor Nicoli on the first day of class:  The Cranston RI Health Equity Zone has offered Mello one of their competitive internships, saying that her independent study research, and experience in dance and somatic studies, gave her an edge over the other public health students who applied.  Here is Mello describing her new work:

"Hi Cathy!! I will be interning at Cranston Health Equity Zone this Spring!  They were impressed with the independent study we cultivated last spring, and the research I did:  combining my interests and conducting research on various therapy methods for trauma through dance movement, music, and meditation. 

This internship is a wonderful opportunity to combine my majors of Dance and Public Health and put them to practice in a community space.  I will be working with the Trauma Workgroup and diving into the question of, “How do we rest in a way that feels restorative?”  Much of the research of the independent study will guide my activities with the people I work with.

Ultimately, I hope this internship helps develop my own practice and helps me hone a better understanding of what I want to do after graduation. I am overjoyed with this opportunity to help and support others.  I look forward to finding unique ways to assist people as they rest, heal, and rebuild their inherent right to feel holistically well."

If anyone would like to discuss how to merge their passion for dance with another interest – for a distinct edge in the professional world, feel free to contact Professor Cathy Nicoli at cnicoli@rwu.edu!