Tender steps: A dance film, raising awareness of babyloss in the digital arena

Tender Steps, a short dance film created to raise awareness of babyloss, has captivated a global online audience through its emotionally resonant portrayal of grief and remembrance. This work addresses an often underrepresented experience, using the power of virtual performance to harness participation and empathy. By focusing on an issue that transcends cultural and national boundaries, Tender Steps mobilizes the performing arts as a vehicle for community engagement and social support, highlighting how the digital space can act as a site for collective healing and awareness-building.

The viewing of this work for delegates fits within the broader theme of ‘Performing Arts and Participation in Virtual and Online Media.’ The film’s impact lies in its use of cinematic techniques that are both accessible and emotionally immersive, leveraging the immediacy of digital platforms to reach a diverse and international viewership. As noted in the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026, cultural institutions, such as the University of Derby, are pivotal in strengthening integration and community involvement. This film exemplifies this role by engaging an online audience in a participatory experience that encourages dialogue on babyloss—a topic that often remains stigmatised or overlooked.

Through Tender Steps, we explore how virtual media can extend the reach of the performing arts, creating a new, inclusive space for engagement that is not constrained by geographic or social barriers. This project underscores the potential of digital platforms to facilitate participatory engagement and inclusive storytelling, setting a precedent for how performance-based art can create meaningful online communities around sensitive issues. Tender Steps not only deepens audience involvement but also broadens the scope of digital performing arts as a medium for empathy and
awareness in addressing complex social themes.