Dance therapy with Catherine Chappell

In 1997, Catherine founded the Touch Compass Dance Company to develop and showcase the collaborative work of dancers with and without disabilities. Her work over the past 20 years has been seen both nationally and internationally, on stage, in pop-up outdoor locations, and on screen.

Catherine’s roles have included Artistic Director, teacher, choreographer, mentor and producer.

Some of her most well-known work includes collaborating on Lusi’s Eden and Lighthouse, and initiating the extraordinary DanceBox short film series. She is highly regarded as a pioneer for her aerial work, which has often seen dancers suspended above the stage. In 2018, she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for her work.

In 2019, Catherine stepped down from Touch Compass Dance Company and became a resident Dance Therapist and Project Coordinator of the Healing Through Arts & Action trust. She has helped coordinate and array of projects, utilising her choreographer and artistic expression to mentor those with physical and mental challenges.

A Supported Life: Community & Communication

The trust originally supported Catherine Chappell in 2020 to create a workshop programme that would invite people of all backgrounds to come together and use drama and movement as a form of expression. The plan was to tour it around schools and other establishments such as retirement homes and villages. However, because of COVID-19, we had to improvise and therefore partnered with A Supported Life, an organisation that helps people with a variety of disabilities.

In 2020, Catherine held workshops over Zoom with A Supported Life in. The group workshopped for over a year, using different mediums such as costumes to help with communication, and puppets to work with textiles and movement. They finally created a piece that looks at diversity and change, and then created a video of the piece and associated workshopping to be shared throughout schools, so that the program’s initial intention could be fulfilled. The film was edited by youth mentor Thorne Snow with storyline guidance from Maxine Donnellan. It is hoped that the programme and video can be toured once COVID-19 allows for it.

Dancing in the Light

On July 19 2019 a group of differently abled people danced together at the Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights. Through this integrated programme, our youth at risk, disabled people, and youth with mental health challenges all performed together in a community environment. The Dancing in the Light community show focused on helping people find their resilience through empathy and hope.

Rise Up Festival

Performing in collaboration with Te Waka Trust, Catherine Chappell and two down syndrome dancers, Jesse and Ruth, danced together in an integrative community event. The Rise Up Festival, in 2019, was hosted as a means of bringing disparate members of the community together through food, dance, song and craft. Funds were raised for youth at risk and information booths on topics such as youth services, drug-free education and general health were available to all.