Welcoming Cath Heinemeyer to the Moving Minds Board

We're delighted to welcome Dr Cath Heinemeyer to the Moving Minds Board of Trustees.

Cath brings a wealth of experience in storytelling, performance, community wellbeing and creative learning, along with a deep belief in the power of creativity to connect people and enrich lives. Her work spans higher education, performance and social change, and her values align closely with our own mission to use creative movement to support health, wellbeing and belonging.

We asked Cath a few questions to help our community get to know her better—from what inspires her, to why she believes creativity is so important, and what she hopes for the future of Moving Minds.

We hope you enjoy getting to know Cath as much as we're enjoying working alongside her.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a storyteller and musician by background, involved with a whole range of things where community wellbeing, learning, performance and social change intersect. I teach Performance at York St John University and also coordinate the university’s Living Lab – a network of students and staff collaborating to tackle local social and ecological justice issues.

What inspires you outside of work?

Performance is what gives me my energy and my thinking space, and brings me into contact with new communities and ideas! I’m half of the storytelling duo Adderstone – we make music-infused shows which explore what it means to live well in these very difficult times.  

What was it about our work that resonated with you?

I’m inspired by how Moving Minds’ practice puts expression and creativity first, continuing to celebrate and develop the spark in each person. As my own mother-in-law’s dementia progresses, I see more and more how moments of shared movement bring connection and vibrancy to her life.

Why do you think creativity is important for our health and wellbeing?

I think creativity is a reasonable way of summing up the reason we are here on earth, though that will look very different for each person. To keep thriving, we have to keep allowing influences and inspirations to flow through us and be transformed into new things, and allowing ourselves to be altered in the process.  

What do you hope Moving Minds will achieve over the next few years?

As well as developing Moving Minds’ own practice in different settings, I hope we can find impactful ways to share our learning and ways of working in a whole range of contexts - professional, community, academic – so others can gain confidence in using creative movement in their own work.