Art of Recovery

‘I’m learning about myself, about trust and how hard/ easy it is. I’m releasing.’ Participant, 30 June 2026

Vincent Dance Theatre has a long history of raising awareness about violence against women and girls through our participation projects and by placing the female experience centre stage in our productions – both on stage and on film.

In the UK, it is estimated that 2.3 million people aged 16 and over were victims of domestic abuse. A domestic abuse related call is made to the police every 30 seconds. 1 in 3 pregnant women and 1 in 5 children experience domestic abuse. (Source: 2024 stats from the National Centre for Domestic Violence).

This summer, against a hard hitting, ever increasing backdrop of news stories about men exerting political, physical and sexual power over women, Charlotte Vincent has been leading safe, supportive, restorative spaces for women in Moulsecoomb and Whitehawk.

It’s hard to practice self care. For women experiencing domestic abuse it’s even harder. You don’t think you deserve it. These gentle movement based sessions encourage women to connect with each other and to re-occupy their own bodies through moving, talking and sharing their stories.

Leaning into Vincent’s early training with Joan Skinner (Skinner Release Technique) in San Francisco in the 1990’s, women are encouraged to create space within the body, gather support from the floor and work ‘from the inside out’.  Grounding ourselves allows imaginative thinking and release, often offering a sense of lightness and relief. Which all sounds very earnest, but there is so much laughing that comes out too!

Workshops finish on  14 July.

After the summer break, Vincent will work with a small group of women to create a short performance to be shared at Moulsecoomb Hall in late November to an invited audience. This new work will be accompanied by a series of Archive and Engagement Workshops in The Skep, that offer insight into VDT’s commitment to raising awareness about VAWG ovfor the past 33 years.

Art of Recovery will be filmed and used as an advocacy tool in community and education contexts.

As a project, Art of Recovery began in September 2024, with a series of workshops with women from Oasis Project – a unique charity in Brighton working with women in recovery from substance misuse and often adverse childhood experience and Domestic Abuse. Art of  Recovery is the sister project to VDT’s acclaimed Art of Attachment (2018/21).