Hear dancer Laura Careless talk about how her dancer and doula worlds come together in A Dance for Us

Laura trained as a doula a few years ago having worked as a professional dancer for two decades. She says “I love to bring the skills I developed as a dancer - my understanding of physiology, stamina and non-verbal attunement skills - into a different setting that keeps me closer to my home and family and gives me the opportunity to support people in one of the most transformational moments of their lives”.

As A Dance for Us continues to tour, a dance and cello performance for babies 0-12 months and their carers presented by Katie Dale Everett Dance, my doula and dancer worlds come together. We created the show in collaboration with babies and their caregivers in 2025 and have designed every aspect to welcome the specific needs of this audience and to consider equally the experience of babies and adults. There are a range of seating options including floor cushions so older babies can move around, as well as chairs with backs for those with younger babies.

Gentle and interactive

Before performing I lead an optional, gentle movement session for the audience, giving everyone a moment to settle in the space, guiding parents and carers to connect with their babies, and sharing ideas to dance together at home! The half-hour performance of dance and live music that follows contains gentle references to pre- and post-partum experiences, honouring the relationship that is formed in the first year of life. It includes the words of the caregivers who joined us in workshops as we developed the piece and who generously gifted us their stories.

You’ll leave with new ideas for creating gentle, meaningful and creative experiences at home with movement, sound and storytelling, and hopefully refreshed and moved by the experience of sharing a performance with your littlest person.

Something simple yet shared

In the first year of my son’s life, I spent more time singing than in the rest of my life up to that point. It felt simple and powerful - a way to keep myself well-regulated while I soothed him, a place to keep my creative spirit alive amid the repetition of the daily tasks that sustain a newborn, a way to give him my presence when I needed to put him down.

I had felt embarrassed by my singing voice in the past, but now I was less interested in what it sounded like and more interested in the effect it had on my son. 

I was reminded of this a few years later, working with Hastings-based Spun Glass Theatre as a visiting artist to one of their baby groups in my pre-doula days. On my first visit to the groups I limited the time I spent actually dancing (assuming everyone and especially the babies would find it boring) and maximizing the props, the storytelling, the swirling fabric. But to my surprise and enlightenment, the only moments where all (all!) the babies were truly still and attentive were the moments when I was dancing. At these moments I could feel the wonder and joy in the room of parents sharing an artistic experience with such young children, perhaps for the first time. 

It was a lesson in the power of allowing audiences to focus on something simple yet shared. While expensive lights, costumes and sets lead to great photos and media attention, they can often distract from the power of a live, human performance. I have often found dance to be more meaningful up close in a studio rehearsal, with everyone in their old jogging bottoms, than on the stage. It's the same power, through simplicity and intimacy, that found its way to my baby son through my imperfect yet full-hearted singing.

A world of your own making

In my work with babies and their caregivers, I know well the power of removing distractions and stimulation for babies and for ourselves, allowing us both to focus on one thing together for our mutual soothing, sensing, and delight. Our world loves to sell us stuff to keep our babies occupied (and as the mother of a Lego-loving 7 year old I can promise it doesn’t stop as they grow older!) but there is no replacement for our presence. 

Our creativity is an intrinsic part of that presence, and drawing upon it can refresh our energy when we are tired and deepen our bonds with our families. Your baby isn’t judging your singing voice or your dance moves, and your toddler doesn’t care if your homespun bedtime story makes no sense at all (maybe because you fell asleep in the middle of a sentence…); they are learning that there is a world inside you of your own making and that they too have the freedom to express themselves, develop their own ideas about beauty and meaning, and find enchantment in an imperfect world.

Touring across the South East

We have toured A Dance For Us throughout the South East and have had the most wonderful feedback. It has been joyful for me to bring my knowledge as a doula to the project, to consider the caregiver’s comfort as an inextricable part of the child’s experience, and to create trauma-informed opportunities for people to reflect on the perinatal experience in the great variety of forms it can take. We use additional elements (lighting, costumes, props) gently and sparingly, engaging very young children and sleep-deprived parents without being overstimulating, and allowing the simple power of music and dance to work its magic.

Creativity without judgement

It’s utterly liberating to rediscover your creativity with a baby who doesn’t judge you, especially at a time when our identities may be shifting as a result of their arrival. I won’t be heading to the Glyndebourne operatic stage any time soon, but every time I hear my son singing to himself in his bedroom (often building yet more Lego) fireworks go off in my heart and, quietly, I sing along.

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Thanks to Laura McAdams who shared this article on behalf of the Lewes Birth Collective.

www.lauramcadamsdoula.com (doula)

www.lauracareless.com (dance)

Photos by KDE Dance