Mrs Michelle Dwarika

Mrs Michelle Dwarika

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences

Contact details

Email
msd230@student.bham.ac.uk

Qualifications

  • MA in Social research
  • MAS in Dance Science
  • Dip in Educational science
  • MA in theatre and performing arts
  • BA in theatre and performing arts

Biography

Born in Basel, Switzerland, Michelle is a PhD candidate and research associate at the University of Birmingham investigating mental skills training in dance. Having gained her BA and MA in theatre and performance arts at the University of Oslo, she completed a PGDE degree from Oslo Metropolitan University before embarking on a master’s degree in Dance Science at the University of Bern. Upon graduation, she became a research assistant for the Resilience and Ethics in Dance (REDE) project and guest lecturer in dance psychology at the Oslo National academy of the Arts in Oslo, Norway. Michelle is a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science and has served on its dance educator’s committee before chairing the Mental Health Special Interest group as of 2025. She has presented at several conference both in the UK and internationally. Her main research interests include mental health in dance, resilience and how mental skills can enhance dancers’ mental well-being and performance.

Doctoral research

PhD title
Developing the MST4Dance: Investigating the lived experiences and contexts of freelance dance artists and psychologically informed practitioners to inform the development of a mental skills training program for freelance dance artists.

Research

My PhD aims to develop a mental skills training program for freelance dance artists. To make the program meaningful, effective and engaging, we have involved freelance dance artists (the beneficiaries of the intervention) and psychologically informed practitioners (the deliverers of the intervention) in the development of the program. The PhD investigates the lived experiences and insights of these individuals and how MST can be conceptualised in dance.

Supervisors

Prof. Jennifer Cumming, Dr. Mary Quinton and Prof. Sanna Nordin-Bates

Publications

Dwarika, M. S., & Haraldsen, H. M. (2023). Mental health in dance: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1090645.

Dwarika, M. S., & Nordin-Bates, S. M. (2025). Supported or Thwarted? An Exploration of Autonomy Support in Ballet Teaching Informed by the Circumplex Model. Journal of Dance Education, 25(2), 176-186.

Dwarika, M. S., Quinton, M. L., Nordin-Bates, S., & Cumming, J. (2024). Characteristics of mental skills interventions in dance: a mixed methods systematic review protocol. BMJ open, 14(7), e086345.

Schachtler Dwarika, M., Quinton, M., Nordin-Bates, S., & Cumming, J. (2025). Enhancing Mental Skills for Freelance Dance Artists: A Qualitative Study Protocol. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24, 16094069241312014.

Cumming, J., Quinton, M., Tidmarsh, G., Bird, G., & Dwarika, M. (2025). Imagery perspective, modality and uses in movement and action. In The Psychology of Mental Imagery in Movement and Action. Routledge.

Dwarika, M. S., Quinton, M. L., Nordin-Bates, S., & Cumming, J. (2025). Mapping characteristics of mental skills training interventions in dance using TIDieR: a mixed-methods systematic review. BMJ open, 15(11), e104552.