REBECCABARNSTAPLE

My lab is a dancefloor

I study what happens when people make art, move together, improvise and connect. I work across dance, neuroscience, creative health and community practice — not as separate boxes, but as overlapping ways of understanding human experience.

I am an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Creative Arts, Health and Wellness at the University of Guelph, with a PhD in dance studies and graduate training in neuroscience from York University. My work spans research, teaching, dance/movement therapy and the development of participatory arts initiatives.

The through-line? A fascination with what artistic engagement makes possible — for bodies, brains, communities and systems of care.