The dance of Lean_in...
Our Story
The Creation of Lean_in
Lean_in was born out of a personal need—a call for expansion within my art form and a deeper reconnection with myself and others after navigating personal trauma. I felt the absence of spaces where we could fully embody our past, present, and future selves—not just as movers or artists, but as humans.
I created Lean_in in the spring of 2024 as a container—something strong enough to hold not only my own journey, but the shared experiences of the collective. A space where release, reflection, and reconnection could co-exist. It became a way to solidify my practice of sharing and facilitating, while offering a grounded and open structure for others to explore what it means to move, feel, and unravel.
At its core, Lean_in exists to support the unbinding of the self—physically, emotionally, relationally. It offers workshops, performances, and evolving movement practices that hold space for both the individual and the wider community.
As it grows, Lean_in is building a body of work centered around relational psychology—using this lens to create offerings that move beyond physicality and into the tender, complex terrain of what it means to be human. This work is a living exploration of our life cycles, our patterns, and the collective stories that shape us.
Experience the depth and raw beauty of contemporary movement through the evolving choreographic works of Lean_in—a platform for embodied expression, relational exploration, and meaningful connection through dance.
EMPOWERING THROUGH MOVEMENT
Our Purpose
At Lean_in, our purpose is to create space for embodied exploration, emotional honesty, and collective healing. We use movement as a tool to reconnect—with ourselves, with others, and with the stories we carry. Through workshops, performances, and somatic practices, we support the unravelling of conditioned patterns and invite a return to what is real, raw, and human. This is a space to move through—not away from—our experiences, and to hold both the personal and collective body with care, curiosity, and presence.
TEAM
I’m Joshua Jarvis Jones — also known as Just_Josh — a movement facilitator, practitioner, and choreographer whose work lives at the meeting point of technique, emotion, and embodied storytelling. Trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, my path has been shaped as much by formal study as by personal transformation. After experiencing deep personal loss, I turned to contemporary movement as a source of healing, finding in it a powerful way to connect with myself and others. My practice now blends structure with authenticity, using dance as a language to explore vulnerability, resilience, and shared human experience. I’ve performed and collaborated across the UK and Europe with artists like Ricardo Buscarini, Madeline Shan, and Viola Bruni, while also leading workshops and classes at festivals and gatherings throughout Europe. In 2024, I launched Lean_in — a movement space grounded in release, curiosity, and connection. Whether through teaching, creating, or performing, my work invites others to listen deeply, move honestly, and lean into the intelligence of their own bodies.
