RELENTLESS: Inclusive Best Practice Training with BLINK

Explore ways to use movement as a shared language, engage all the senses, build trust and take creative risks in this series of trainings with BLINK Dance Theatre. 

Across three workshops, you will be introduced to the fundamental approaches that underpin all of BLINK’s participatory work, taking away a toolkit of approaches and activities to make your own work more inclusive.

All sessions take place on Wednesday evenings, 6 - 8pm, at BLINK’s studio in Nine Elms. They will be co-led by a neurodiverse pair of BLINK Dance Theatre co-facilitators. The exact plan will vary between sessions, but all will include a relaxed start and check-in, an overview of the approaches shared, and a chance to put these approaches into practice through practical activities.

Session Agendas

• Session One: Finding Ways into Movement & Sensory Movement, 17th June

  Movement is a universal language. This session provides tools to break down barriers to creative and physical expression, using sensory engagement to create inclusive, age-aware environments rooted in deep connection.

  This training will cover:

  • Accessible ways to connect through movement, even when dance isn't your thing!

  • How and why to engage the senses in your practice, including the vestibular, proprioceptive and interoceptive senses

  • An introduction to using objects creatively, as well as foundations for designing your own sensory props

  • The importance of age-awareness and what this looks like in practice

• Session Two: Building Trust through Creative Communication, 24th June

  Foster environments where everyone feels safe to be seen. We’ll share proven techniques for accessible communication and low-demand practice that prioritises participant agency, trust, and creative freedom.

  This training will cover:

  • Accessible creative communication approaches for different needs

  • Participant agency through choice-making and leadership

  • Building trust through low-demand techniques

  • Techniques to structure sessions and reduce transition anxiety

• Session Three: Taking Risks in Co-Creation and Co-Leadership, 1st July

  Explore the transformative power of co-creation and co-leadership. This session challenges traditional hierarchies, focusing on the practicalities of artist support and building collaborative neurodiverse partnerships that shift creative power.

  This training will cover:

  • Risk-taking and subversive approaches to co-creation: challenging institutional expectations; using special interests as a creative starting point

  • Accessible co-leadership: what needs to be in place for neurodivergent leaders to thrive; the differences between co-facilitation and artistic support

  • Approaches to collaborating effectively with support / care workers and staff in partner organisations

Want to learn from BLINK, but can’t make it this time? This will be the first of many training series where we share our practice with others - to hear about more in the future, sign up for our mailing list.