I have been an Alexander Technique teacher since 1992, graduating from la Centro Italiano Tecnica Alexander, in Tuscany Italy. I taught the F.M. Alexander Technique and movement for actors and opera singers at the University of Victoria Theatre Department, the Victoria Conservatory of Music, the Banff Centre and at the Victoria Motion Picture School before joining the faculty at York University Theatre Department.
The Alexander Technique is a way of learning to move mindfully through life. The Alexander process examines inefficient habits of movement and patterns of accumulated tension, which interferes with our innate ability to move easily and according to how we are designed.
It’s a simple yet powerful approach that offers the opportunity to take charge of one’s own learning and healing process, because it’s not a series of passive treatments but an active exploration that changes the way one thinks and responds in activity.
It produces a skill set that can be applied in every situation. Lessons leave one feeling lighter, freer, and more grounded. It’s a powerful tool for performers of all kind.
The Alexander Technique and the Arts
You’ve seen the Alexander Technique at work on stage and screen.
Christopher Reeve used it in the late 1970s and ’80s to transform from Clark Kent to Superman, slumping “down” so his movements became awkward and unbalanced as the mild-mannered reporter, then standing “up” with obvious balance and ease as the Man of Steel.
John Cleese used the Alexander Technique in 1988 to perform his hilarious striptease in A Fish Called Wanda.
Other performers who have used the Alexander Technique to enhance their work include Colm Feore, Cynthia Dale, Brent Carver, Martha Henry, Benedict Campbell, Paul Gross, Colin Davis, William Hurt, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Paul McCartney, Kelly McGillis, Paul Newman, Lynn Redgrave, Maggie Smith, Mary Steenburgen, Sting, Robin Williams, Joanne Woodward, Ben Kingsley, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Juliette Binoche, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, and Hilary Swank.
Where is The Alexander Technique being taught?
The Alexander Technique forms part of the training for performing artists throughout the western world. Following are just some of the schools that include the Alexander Technique in their programs.
In Canada:
University of Alberta, Augustana Campus
University of Alberta, Department of Drama
Capilano University
James Bay Community School Centre
McGill University, Faculty of Music
Montréal Symphony Orchestra, Standard Life Competition
Le Domaine Forget, Music and Dance Academy
University of Alberta, Department of Music
North Shore Continuing Education, North Vancouver
Opera Nuovo, Vocal Arts Festival, Edmonton
Option-théâtre du Collège Lionel-Groulx
Globe Theatre, Regina
The Royal Conservatory of Music
Union des artistes
Université du Québec à Montréal, Department of Dance
University of Manitoba, Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music
University of Toronto, Faculty of Music
University of Victoria, Division of Continuing Studies
University of Victoria, School of Music
Victoria Piano Summer School
York University, Department of Theatre
for More information about the Alexander Technique please visit:
Gwenyth Dobie 