WORKSHOPS

I am currently on Maternity Leave and not checking my emails or messages.

If you would like to be added to my waitlist for workshops or therapy, please email indicating "Waitlist for Workshops" or "Waitlist for Therapy" and I will reach out upon my return to office in late 2024.

Balanced Mental Health provides mental wellness workshops to arts and sports organizations. These are available for artists/athletes and also for educators/coaches. Workshop participants will learn about how their mental health impacts their performance through mental skills, coping strategies, self-care, resilience, motivation & more.

Workshops are hosted by Natalka Lewis (MA Counselling Psychology, CCC-Q, BA Dance, AD-CC-CICB). Our workshops are curated to the needs of the group; we believe that when it comes to resilience and mental health, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. There are idiosyncrasies and nuances to each of us that cannot be addressed with a recipe. Therefore, Natalka Lewis will work with your group to cater a workshop to your custom needs. 

​

​

Here is a list of possible workshop topics:

​

FOR EDUCATORS/COACHES: 

-Anxiety: Dancers & the Dance Classroom 

-Strengths-Based and Non-Shaming Teaching Methods 

-Managing Burn out and Self-Care in Dance Educators 

-Formulating, Mitigating and Providing Healthy Feedback to Dancers 

-Developmentally Appropriate Build-Ups in Dance Utilizing Play 

-Strengths-Based Feedback & Body-Positive Feedback 

-Neurodivergence in the Dance Classroom 

-Building Resilient Dancers 

-The Brain Model: Working with Brain Development in Dance 

-Thought Patterns in Dancers: Altering Negative Thought Patterns toward Healthier Thinking 

-Mindfulness in Dance 

-Promoting Good Mental Health in Dance throughout Covid-19 

-Control & Perfectionism in Dancers 

​

​

FOR ARTISTS/ATHLETES: 

-Managing Burn Out & Stress 

-Self-Care for Dancers 

-The Brain Model: Understanding how your Brain works and Affects You 

-Thought Patterns in Dancers: Altering Negative Thought Patterns toward Healthier Thinking 

-Mindfulness For Dancers 

-Promoting Good Mental Health in Dance throughout Covid-19 

-The Comparison Trap: Freeing your Best Self 

-Anxiety in Dancers 

-Accepting Feedback in Dance 

-Control & Perfectionism in Dancers 

-Conquering Negative Thinking

BIOGRAPHY
Natalka Lewis has spent her life deeply immersed in the dance world. Her involvement in the arts spans stages, studios, classrooms, & administration offices. Her choreographic work is deeply rooted in authentic human experiences, connection, emotion, with a large focus on addressing mental health. As an educator, Natalka upholds technical and artistic proficiency in her dancers, while also placing emphasis on dancer’s mental health, relationships, self-esteem, worth, and resiliency. She believes in safe-dance practice from both a physical and a mental health perspective and approaches dance from a strengths-based, non-shaming and trauma-informed lens. She believes that dance, art & sport has therapeutic potential and that through these activities, humans can thrive. Natalka believes dancer, artists & athletes should be having more conversations and receive better education/access to resources about mental health.  She is passionate about ensuring that mental health stigma is addressed in these communities.

​

Natalka obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Dance (Ballet & Contemporary Dance) and worked actively as a professional dancer for over a decade. She founded Luminare Dance Company (formerly known as Trip the Light Dance Company) in 2013 and continues to direct the professional project-based company and the youth training company. Her choreographic work has been showcased across Western Canada in into the United States. Additionally, Natalka holds her Associate Diploma teaching qualifications with Cecchetti Canada and is a certified ballet teacher. Natalka is a sought after guest-teacher and choreographer. Currently, she is the Ballet Director at Evolutions School of Dance and has worked as a faculty member in both ballet and modern dance at the Alberta Ballet School where she headed the Open Division Performance Group.  

With over 15 years of teaching experience and a life in the arts, Natalka was aware of the growing anxiety and depression in dancers, including herself. In 2015, while working with a student who was developing anxiety while recovering from an injury, Natalka was concerned about the need for more access to mental health for dancers and she contacted dance psychologist, Dr. Peter Lovatt (PhD) in the UK for advice. Inspired & motivated to help dancers with anxiety and other mental health needs, Natalka enrolled in her Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology, which she obtained in 2019. She completed her practicum at the Calgary Counselling Centre. Natalka is a mental health counsellor and she is working towards registration as a psychologist. Natalka is informed about development, attachment, and childhood mental health disorders and continues to complete professional development in these areas. She has experience working with anxiety, depression, mood disorders, self-esteem, grief, trauma, ADHD, addiction, disordered eating, and more. She operates from a strengths-based approach and draws from evidence-based treatments including Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, and other mindfulness based approaches. Natalka is excited to be offering workshops and services to the arts/sports community to promote better mental health and resiliency. These workshops are created for artists by an artist who understands the nuances and intricacies involved. She is very passionate about working with young people and believes that these conversations will lead the next generation of artists & athletes to develop resiliency, longevity, self-awareness, and to create their best versions of themselves!