Rebecca Barnstaple
HI ! I'm an Assistant Professor in the NEW Bachelor's of Creative Arts, Health and Wellness at the University of Guelph, cross-appointed with Theatre. My research investigates biological impacts of arts engagement with a focus on dance and improvisation. I trained in Dance/Movement Therapy at National Centre for Dance Therapy at Les Grands Ballets in Montreal, Canada.
I am a researcher, practitioner, artist and educator in the field of arts and health with specialisations in dance, dance therapy and neuroscience. I teach in the newly created Bachelor's of Creative Arts, Health and Wellness at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada - this is a four year honours undergraduate program that prepares students to contribute to this emerging field in the myriad ways that already exist and those that are still being imagined! I am also faculty for the Dance/Movement Therapy training programs at the National Centre for Dance Therapy in Montreal, Canada and ZOE School for Dance Therapy in Basel, Switzerland. Some of my current projects look at the ways social prescribing can improve access to arts-based resources and the exploration and development of best practices for arts and health practitioners and programs.
Interests
Topics - Dance, Dance for PD, Neuroscience of Dance, Neurobiological effects of Dance and Arts Engagement, Transdisicplinary research design, Social Prescribing and Arts on Prescription, Community Health, Public Health, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Chronic Pain