“Dream, Believe, Achieve” is Jen’s mantra. She says, “With the right support at the right time we can go further and further”.
Jen co-created DanceSyndrome in 2009 with her parents, Sue and Malcolm Blackwell, after they had searched for 10 years and not found the right support to enable Jen to be the community dance leader she had always dreamt of. They didn’t know what was possible, but they knew they had to do something.
From the first group of 14 dancers with and without learning disabilities who danced, smiled and ‘talked’ through dance together, Jen continues to co-lead community dance sessions every week in person and online, and is an active role model for the thousands of people who connect with DanceSyndrome every year.
Jen has won many awards for her inspiring work, including being listed on the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list, a Prime Minister’s Point of Light Award, and most recently receiving a British Empire Medal for her Services to Disabled People and an Honorary Doctorate for her Services to Dance from Salford University. Jen received a Silver Stevie Award for Woman of the Year (non-profit and government) receiving the only ovation of the evening from the business audience in New York, November 2024.
Jen says, “DanceSyndrome has given me my life. I give my life to DanceSyndrome”.
Jen co-leads workshops, is part of the DanceSyndrome Dance Performance Collective, and is part of the leadership team being valued and listened to as the unique person she is.
Jen is supported by a team to enable her to live independently from her parents and lead her full life with purpose. Jen loves skiing, martial arts, playing the flute and doing diamond art.
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