Gravida Project

Gravida Project

Gravida Project is the very first project in Wales that looks at creativity through pregnancy and maternal mental health.

In 2011 – through the first research project, ‘Women in Pregnancy’ Gravida was born. Funded by the Arts Council of Wales and supported by Chapter Art Centre we worked with midwives, pregnant community members and pregnant professional dancers to develop a proof of concept for the CODA (Context Oriented Dance Approach) methodology.

In 2018 – Gravida Project was showcased as a multimedia dance theatre exploration of pregnancy and maternal issues, through body memory and emotional heritage. This was staged at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff and funded by Arts Council Wales.

Using CODA methodologies, developed by Aleksandra Nikolajev Jones, Gravida enables artists, mothers, mother – artists and all women who have experienced or are experiencing transformations into motherhood.

CODA re-situates their experiences through embodiment and flow. This process allows for the body to reconnect with the mind and vice-versa; where the mother-dancer – the artist can reclaim her grounded physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing.

Gravida Project works with professional dancers, community dancers and women who may have experienced postnatal depression, trauma through pregnancy and birth and other life difficulties transitioning from pre-motherhood into the multi-complexities of pregnancy and birth and the demands on the emotional body and mind.

Multimedia Dance Experience
The Republic of the Imagination team:
Artistic Director: Aleksandra Jones
Dramaturg: Jelena Vuksanovic
Filmmaker: Carys Lewis
Photography: Vaida Barzdaite
Music/sound: Siôn Orgon
Producer: Claire Bottomley
Performers: Aleksandra Jones, Lara Ward, Deborah Light, Jessie Brett, Carrie Westwater, Mary- Anne Roberts
More of our Gravida Project team: Ellora Adam, Jo Langhelt, Nevenka Abril, Jessica Hearne, Shauna Conant, Slavica Tucakov.
Supported by Arts Council of Wales National Lottery Funding, with in-kind support from Chapter Arts Centre.
In memory of Francis Medley.