Today we’re joined by dancer and troupe sister Belle Bluestocking to talk about mental health and creativity, and what the two mean to her (kind of our theme, in case you hadn’t noticed). Belle opens up about dancing through her emotions, her beloved Sylvia Plath, and why ‘toxic positivity’ can be damaging to our mental health. Plus, did you know you can have a panic attack from happy excitement? Neither did we. Listen to the end to find out more…

You can find Belle Bluestocking on Instagram as @issybee22.

NB brief CW at 36 mins.

Full transcript available here: https://invisiblecabaret.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Issy-transcript.pdf

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Things mentioned in the podcast:

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar. New York: Harper and Row, 1971

Limón contemporary dance technique, developed by Mexican dancer & choreographer José Limón

Martha Graham (American modern dancer & choreographer)

Alvin Ailey (American dancer and choreographer)

'Toxic positivity'

Digging for diamonds cartoon

Dyspraxia - some great support resources on the ArtsMinds website

Long-read about dance & mental health

‘I May Destroy You’ on BBC iPlayer

‘Little Fires Everywhere’ on Amazon Prime

What to do if your friend has a panic attack

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Be in the next episode of #InvisiblePodcast! Tweet or DM us with what you're grateful for this week, or - better still - send us a voice message!

The Invisible Cabaret Podcast is all about mental health and creativity. Invisible Cabaret is a cabaret and burlesque troupe devoted to raising mental health awareness, founded by Rosie Verbose and Ferrero Rochelle. When the world's not in a global pandemic, Invisible Cabaret makes burlesque and cabaret shows all about mental health. Think vaudeville variety, dance, original music, comedy, poetry and more.

You can see some clips of Invisible Cabaret in action on YouTube.

Mixed by Matt Ennis, www.mennismixing.co.uk

Music: Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod , available by license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Photo credit: Steve Gregson Photography

www.invisiblecabaret.org

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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/invisible-cabaret/message