11h55, EPSM (Mental Health Public Institute) of Lille, Armentières. Dancing at the G18 clinic, with Gismonde, Roseline, Alexandra, Pierre-François and Ines, patients, caregivers and dancers.

The meeting and the sharing of our sensibilities by dance are very strong for all. Before this dance, we did 30 minutes of dancing in the common room. We (dancers and caregivers) have been doing this for 6 days in different structures. For the minute of the day, all those who wish can not appear on a public video because they are under guardianship. So we film dances especially for them. After the dance, everyone thanks each other. Roseline, moved and surprised, says: “we feel we exist! Like what we still exist …). Gismonde says thank you. We shared a very strong moment. I thank her too. She says it’s unforgettable. Through dance, even if we do not know each other, we share things that can be very deep and do not need words.

Sophie, a psychiatrist, arrives after we’ve finished dancing. She says that something in the atmosphere has completely changed and that it’s really palpable.

Yesterday, a man in a wheelchair, in a specialized hosting house, told me “It was a supreme honor to share this dance, I will remember it all my life”

These dance exchanges with teams and patients are real gifts.

As part of a Dancing at the hospital project, supported by EPSM Flanders and Culture Santé Hauts-de-France.