Books: Investing in Alexander Techique

[Danzatriz]

I was recently reading about the Alexander technique. Finding an instructor here would im afraid be quite impossible and I was wondering if investing in some good books and/or videos would be worth both my time and money?

From what I've read it sure sounds wonderful, but then again thats what all advertisments are supposed to do .

Any imput or suggestions would be great,

thank you!

 

 

ps> Mr.J I conducted a search before posting and read about your near death experience with actor's Alex. Tech. ... i'll be sure to stay away from that, as it sounds more than counterproductive!

[Tiffany]

I got to take a semester long class in this a few years ago. I enjoyed it, and the instructor was a dancer herself, which made it more helpful to me as a dancer. The book that we used with our class was How to Learn the Alexander Technique: A Manual for Studentsby Barbara Conable. I read a lot of it, though not all, and it was easy to understand. I don't think you could really understand this technique from a book though; maybe in the future you will have the chance to take a class in it. It seems like my teacher mentioned that there are week long workshops with well know Alexander Technique practitioners-maybe you could attend one of those, and it would be like a short summer intensive!

 

I have seen a few video clips while taking this class showing some of the more well known A.T. practitioners; I have no idea what the video titles were or if they are still on the market.

 

Overall I have found the Alexander Technique to be more helpful in correcting poor body mechanics in every day life, though, rather than in my dancing.

[Danzatriz]

Thank you for your reply, Tiffany, and the information on that book. Im afraid those classes and workshops are looking quite distant however...

it's a third world thing I guess (I'm lucky to even find a certified Pilates instructor here, althought it's catching on. Oh well. At least we have the cool rainforest -so I can't really complain the grass in always greener... )

[Dance_Scholar_London]

Many pre-professional school in the UK have included Alexander technique in their curriculum. It helps to better understand your body mechanics, placement and alignment. Of course, you will then have to apply this knowledge to your specific dance form such as ballet or contemporary dance. I remember that I had to find my nose (with closed eyes) in my first Alexander class and where it is placed in my face :-)

[Clara 76]

Overall I have found the Alexander Technique to be more helpful in correcting poor body mechanics in every day life, though, rather than in my dancing.

 

I have found that when a dancer begins to focus on correct anatomical alignment, and attempt to apply the concepts to their dancing, they find that suddenly, they can't turn, or feel off balance, or any one of a number of other 'weaknesses' that suddenly show up.

 

This is because their bodies have adapted to dancing without those principles, and when the principles are applied correctly, the dancer often experiences a regression of sorts, of their dancing.

 

If the dancer sticks with it, they will come through the other side stronger, better, and with correct form. However, not too many dancers are willing to take the time to do so. It involves a whole lot of patience!!

 

I'm not implying that Tiffany is in this category at all. I merely quoted her post since she's the only one who wrote it!

 

Clara 76

[skip]

four years ago, when i was preparing for my RAD intermediate exam, my teacher introduced us to Alexander technique. I actually found it quite helpful and felt stronger.

 

after that, we stopped doing it (also because we didn't have separate time for it, we just did some exercises at the beginning of class) and as a coincidence, this was brought up at our school last week as well....

 

it was funny at first, but as i said before, i thought it helped me a lot

 

~SKIP~