What if making mistakes wasn’t something children learned to fear but something they learned to celebrate?In this episode of The Path Forward: Mental Health with Maps, Dr. Gina Pasquale sits down with Kristin Leach, Executive Artistic Director of New Hampshire Dance Institute (NHDI), to explore how dance can become much more than learning steps and preparing for a performance.Kristin shares how her experiences as a young performer shaped the way she approaches teaching today, and why NHDI intentionally creates environments where children can feel supported, take risks, make mistakes and discover what they are capable of.Together, Gina and Kristin explore the difference between controlling children and empowering them, what it means to create a “brave space,” and how trauma-informed practices can help children feel seen without defining them by what they have experienced.They also talk about movement as a tool for emotional regulation, the role of performance in developing resilience, and the surprising ways lessons learned in dance class can carry into school, relationships and everyday life.Kristin also shares her own story. When she was nine years old, her father experienced a cerebral aneurysm that dramatically changed life for her family. Musical theatre became a place of joy, movement, community and belonging during an extraordinarily difficult time—an experience that continues to influence the opportunities she wants to create for children today.At the heart of the conversation is a simple idea: growth does not require perfection. Sometimes becoming more confident, resilient and connected begins with having a place where it is okay to get something wrong.

The Path Forward: Mental Health with MAPS explores honest conversations about mental health, lived experience and the many ways we navigate life’s challenges.Resources & CreditsLearn more about Maps Counseling Services: https://mapsnh.orgLearn more about New Hampshire Dance Institute: https://www.nhdi.orgContact Maps Counseling Services: [email protected] by: Dr. Gina Pasquale Guest: Kristin Leach, Executive Artistic Director of New Hampshire Dance Institute Produced by: Maps Counseling Services Filmed | Directed | Edited by: Christopher David