Back in print
(Previously published by Dance Books - this is a very lightly updated new edition)

Publisher: Triarchy Press
Publication: March 2023
​List Price: £25 use code to save £5
Format: Paperback, 240 pages
Size: 24.6 x 18.9 cm
ISBN: 978-1-913743-75-8
Tags: Dance; Modern dance; Contemporary dance; Creativity; Improvisation; Body therapy; Creative arts
About the author: Miranda Tufnell 
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When I Open My Eyes
Dance  Health  Imagination

Miranda Tufnell 
​

"This book is a plea for dance as a means of moving beyond the anatomised, medicalised, sexualised body to the body as a vital portal into the shifting and complex nature of being alive. It takes the reader on journeys that weave together stories, insights and practical exercises. A rare and moving book and a companion for health practitioners, teachers, students, movers and those searching for creative expression." Niamh Dowling, Principal, RADA

Celebrated dance artist and body therapist Miranda Tufnell takes us on a moving and inspiring exploration of the field of dance and health. For 14 years she worked in a GP surgery in Cumbria and the book opens with a vivid account of an arts project that she and her collaborators ran there for people with long-term health conditions.

This is a book about the body and movement, about imagination and health. It gathers many stories, voices and activities from artists, patients and health practitioners. The arts have long played a role in medicine and there is a substantial body of evidence for the potency of arts practice in strengthening our resources and capacity for wellbeing.

While the work is sourced in the body and movement, it is not only written for people with a dance background. Listening creatively to the body strengthens our body intelligence and ability to look after ourselves effectively. Practitioners from many backgrounds come into this field and will find something of interest. This book sets out to inspire rather than to teach, to offer windows into practice, and to convey something of what it is like to work in this field.

Also available, by the same author:
A Widening Field
Body Space Image

Readership

A Widening Field is a widely used resource for:
  • students and teachers in the creative arts
  • all those working creatively with others: therapeutically, educationally, or in a community context. 

Reviews

"this is an amazing, moving and truly beautiful book born of experience, heart and truth. I would say to buy it as a way to move through life with love and courage and imagination."
​Bridget Folkard on amazon.co.uk

"The practice of medicine is a quiet art. Of course taking a history from the patient involves conversation and cannot be done in silence but so often the flicker of sadness on the patients smiley face or the move of a finger to wipe away a tear can lead the doctor to the real reason for the consultation.

In this book Miranda makes it clear to us all that often the smallest movements of the body tell a story. Sometimes a story of triumph over almost insurmountable difficulties. Every doctor and medical student should read this book. It is a real escape from the tick box mentatility that these days so dominates our profession. This book is a great guide to a more humanastic and humanising way of practicing medicine"
Dr Malcolm Rigler, GP