£100,000 of follow-on funding was awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to the RCM for Healthy Performer, a 12 month project which built on the Musical Impact project. Healthy Performer included network building, asset mapping and the systematic evaluation of current health resources and practices across the performing arts sector, from music to dance, drama, physical theatre and circus arts, ensuring that the outcomes of Musical Impact reached the widest possible community of beneficiaries.
Driven by a clear need and demand to support performers’ health more effectively, Healthy Conservatoires was created as a legacy network of Musical Impact (2013-2018), serving as a mechanism through which knowledge and good practice in the performing arts can be promoted nationally. Supported by the Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) and Conservatoires UK (CUK).the Healthy Performer project will grow and transform the Healthy Conservatoires community, extending the reach of Musical Impact research across other performing arts, generating innovative action, providing leadership and advocacy, and stimulating new, interdisciplinary exchange of good practice
Short engaging films encompassing the knowledge and practices identified by Musical Impact were made under three themes; ‘State-of-the-art in Research’, ‘Performers’ Health Specialists’ and ‘Guidance for Healthy Performance’. The films gave performing artists, and the individuals and organisations who support them, a direct and accessible route through which they can engage with potentially career- and life-altering knowledge on health and wellbeing. An interactive web-platform was designed to help performers navigate the range of information they contain, hosted on the Healthy Conservatoires website allowing visitors to specify details of their performance domain and speciality, as well as any prior or potential health concerns, leading to particular films of potential relevance to be highlighted. Each film included links to relevant follow-on resources provided by BAPAM and other health organisations, with the overall goal of stimulating action, behaviour change, and engagement among performers and support staff.
