We are a virtual garden where women living with metastatic breast cancer rediscover the joy of a body in motion.

A virtual reality artwork for women facing metastatic breast cancer

The Blooming Movement is an interdisciplinary project developed in collaboration with multiple research laboratories, aiming to redefine therapeutic movement through immersive experiences. At its core, the project creates a collaborative virtual environment designed to encourage physical activity through dance, offering a poetic and accessible space for exploration. By leveraging virtual immersion, we integrate interactive strategies to promote relaxation and reduce stress, anxiety, and pain—while measuring the therapeutic effects of the experience on patients’ physical and emotional quality of life. It’s where art, technology, and science converge to foster innovative well-being.

The Blooming Movement Pitch Deck

Here

Inclusivity

A project by women, for women.
We involve patients directly in the creative process so that we can work together to design an experience that best suits their needs.

Kindness

We create a caring environment to help reduce stress, anxiety, and pain as much as possible. We want to provide a gentle and joyful experience far from illness.

Support

Dance is the means of expression and interaction in the artwork. We stimulate it with encouragement and gentle, appropriate progression, inspiring the desire to express oneself freely.

Collaboration

Collaboration is a way to connect with others and motivate ourselves to live the experience to the fullest. We want to connect patients with each other, where illness isolates them.

An artwork inspired by Creative Harmony

Creative Harmony is a collaborative virtual reality artwork inviting several spectators to co-create a landscape through dance and physical expression, in an environment inspired by German Romantic painting.

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Immersion

An initial scene connecting you to yourself, with breathing exercises and a voiceover to facilitate immersion and presence in the virtual world.

Cocreation

A second scene of co-creation of the environment. Each movement becomes a mountain, creating a landscape composed of the dances of all the participants.

Letting go

A third scene of connecting with others. Each person dances freely in the environment co-created by their shared actions. Participants communicate with each other through dance and hand gestures.

Scientific research

We asked Creative Harmony participants to complete scientific questionnaires in order to calculate the impact of the artwork on their emotional state. We discovered that the artistic experience had a powerful ability to promote relaxation and letting go, thanks to presence, contemplation, and collaborative dance.

We aim to deepen our research into the well-being benefits of this immersive artwork, with a focus on a specific audience:

women living with metastatic breast cancer.

Our goal is to measure how dance-based physical activity within the experience influences their quality of life, creating a holistic study of its therapeutic impact—both emotionally and physically.

Dance as therapy

Dance, as a therapy for women with breast cancer, works on both the body and mind.
It helps reduce stress and anxiety, while restoring the connection to the body, which is often disrupted by illness and treatment.

Gentle, creative movements help overcome kinesiophobia and promote emotional expression, thereby boosting self-confidence and a sense of community.

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Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Suitable level design

The immersive experience of The Blooming Movement is thoughtfully designed to respect the physical conditions and emotional needs
of women living with metastatic breast cancer. Our progressive level design begins with gentle, guided movements, gradually building in complexity and intensity to prepare participants for a free, expressive dance. Supported by an adaptive musical score and a soothing voice-over, each step of the journey is crafted to foster confidence, reduce apprehension, and ultimately invite a generous, liberating dance, where movement becomes both an act of joy and a celebration of resilience.

A collaborative project with the Cancer Center Eugène Marquis

The Cancer Center partner brings patients together through a series of dedicated wellness workshops that encourage connection and mutual support. The Blooming Movement will join two of these sessions, inviting participants to experience virtual reality dance in a joyful and engaging way.

Workshop 1
Facial massage
and yoga

Workshop 2
Cooking and nutritional advice

Workshop 3
Discussion about cancer and family

Workshop 4
First experience of
the artwork

Workshop 5
Second experience
of the artwork

During these two experimental workshops 4 and 5, we will collect feedback from participants through questionnaires and discussions. The data will be analyzed and compared to see if emotional state and physical activity change from one session to the next, thereby improving patients' quality of life.