The Body Hotel
Our Mission
is to bring movement based practises into individuals' personal health routines and workplace wellness programmes around the world.
Why Movement for Wellbeing?
Movement for wellbeing is a branch of arts, health & wellbeing, which works with the connection and awareness of our body through creative outlets.
Body-based interventions provide an essential role in recuperation from extreme stress by providing a way to renew, resource recharge and energise our body. In our sessions we use play, enjoyment and reflexivity, which are crucial to developing and nurturing resilience.
What is DMT?
As a profession that incorporates postgraduate-level training in psychotherapy, movement analysis with dance/movement practice, DMT offers a system of embodied skills to help make, maintain and repair the relationship to body, self and other(s). DMT training involves helping clients ask ‘body questions’, drawing connections between movement behaviour and life stress, while transforming relationships through the vehicle of creative expression. The integration of verbal and nonverbal information and the access to symbolic content makes movement-based psychotherapeutic interventions propitious for supporting research and practice in wellbeing, with many constructive implications for health, science and business (Acarón, 2020)
DMT formally prepares facilitators for dealing with mental health concerns should they arise in sessions and we signpost to local organisations if needed. Dance movement therapists also have regulated ethical responsibilities in terms of safeguarding. By having certified practitioners leading our sessions, you can ensure your staff will be welcomed into a safe space. There is a wealth of research of the effectiveness of this modality especially in the area of trauma, self-regulation, stress-recovery, neurological conditions and a myriad of client groups (WHO report, 2019).
Very inspiring about transitions and movement qualities!
The workshop was so affirming and fun!
Thanks for suggesting such a quick and simple morning routine for checking in with our bodies.
Meet The Team
Dr Thania Acarón, PhD, BC-DMT, FHEA
Director, Facilitator & Dance Movement Psychotherapist
(she/her)
Dr Thania Acarón (she/her) is a Puerto Rican lecturer, researcher and dance movement psychotherapist (DMP). She obtained her PhD at the University of Aberdeen on the role of dance/movement in violence prevention and is certified as a DMP in the US and UK. Thania currently works as course leader of the MA in Arts, Health & Wellbeing at the University of South Wales. She also co-directs Fflamingo CIC, a community interest company promoting LGBTQ+ performance projects such as House of Deviant, Wales first and only learning-disabled drag troupe. She is co-editor for the American Journal of Dance Therapy and is author of Body Questions in Practice: Decision Making through Movement and the Arts (Routledge, 2025). Acarón has taught in over 10 DMP training programmes around the world and offers workshops on therapeutic work with the LGBTQ+ community, burnout prevention and professional development.
Thania is the founder of The Body Hotel. She is responsible for the day to day running of the company. She also runs the staff training and organisational workshops that the company offers. She is a member of various dance therapy associations and networks including the Association of Dance Movement Psychotherapy UK, the American Dance Therapy Association, the Latin American Dance Movement Therapy Network, the Wales Arts Health and Wellbeing Network (WAHWN) and the Wales Arts Therapies Advisory Forum (WATAF).
Shailesh Patel, Non-Executive Director
(he/him)
Shailesh has built successful businesses over 25 years, bringing a wealth of expertise in business management, financial consultancies, and a strong passion for mentoring and supporting small businesses. As a self-driven entrepreneur, Shailesh holds interest in developing innovative projects and as Non-Executive Director for The Body Hotel, supports the overall vision development of the company and its Advisory Board. Shailesh is an avid marathoner and distance runner, and heavily believes in the importance of physical activity in our wellbeing.
Dr Mark Gurney, Non-Executive Director
(he/him)
Mark is a scientist and researcher with a PhD in biology and health research, a specialisation in Immunology. He holds an active engagement with equality, diversity and inclusion. Dr Gurney has joined the directorship to support its overall vision and direct efforts in fundraising. He is an avid supporter of the arts, with a keen interest in the health sector.
Samantha McNamara, Project Manager
(she/her)
Sam is an art psychotherapist with a deep belief in the power of creativity to support wellbeing. At the Body Hotel, she works as Project Manager, coordinating experiences that centre the body, expressive movement, and connection. She is also Studio Manager for a therapeutic visual arts community and works as Nature Lead for a charity that uses nature connection to support mental health. Her practice is rooted in the understanding that creativity, movement, and nature are vital pathways to healing. With a personal movement practice that includes yoga, dance, aerial silks, and rope, Sam is passionate about embodied expression as a source of emotional resilience and joy.
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