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Events & Forthcoming Meetings

 

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Please note: if you wish to come to an event without booking then you are advised to contact the administrator or check the website to ensure that the event is taking place. If an event has to be cancelled for any reason, only people who have made a booking will be informed.

 

London AT Friends       

 

Tuesday 27th September 2011

6:30-8:30pm, Friends Meeting House, 8 Hop Gardens,
St Martins Lane, WC2N 4EH.
Entrance fee: £5 (concessions £3)

Guest Speaker: Diana Devitt-Dawson

 

Remembering Wise Words and Helpful Hands.

 

The evening presentation will be given by Diana Devitt-Dawson (HoT), a Tasmanian re-visiting London.  Diana would like to share some of her memories and experiences of having Alexander lessons with some first generation teachers from 1981 to 1986 then from 1989 -1990 including Margaret Goldie, Patrick Macdonald, Marjory Barlow, Dr Wilfred Barlow and Erika Whittaker.  These lessons had a profound influence on Diana, not only in helping her understand how to self-work but also now teach and "stick to principle" when instructing pupils and trainees. The evening will involve a talk, hands-on work and questions.

 

Diana Devitt-Dawson RN/Midf., M.STAT, M.AUSTAT, M.ASPAH is director of training at the Alexander Technique Institute Teacher Training School in Sydney, Australia.  Diana trained in London with Mr Patrick Macdonald and Shoshana Kaminitz and graduated in1984.  From 1984-1986 Diana taught at the Alexander Institute in central London with Dr Wilfred Barlow and Marjorie Barlow.  In 1986 Diana returned home to Australia but returned to London in 1989 to teach and continue lessons herself.  In 1990 Diana spent three months living-in-residence with Mr Macdonald at his home in Lewes, Sussex where she assisted on his last teacher training course.  Diana returned to Australia at the end of 1990 and set up a private practice in British Medical Association House, Sydney. In 2002 Diana became a Head of Training and opened her school in Sydney (www.alexandertechniqueinstitute.com.au)

 

Diana is a midwife with a coronary care / stress management nursing background. Interests include, walking holidays, Shakespeare, Zen meditation, world music, learning Celtic harp and skiing.

 

If you would like to come to this event then please contact Friends administrator Julia Outlaw by email at: julia@atfriends.org

 

For map click here.

 

                                                              

 

Projects

 

The Performing Self

 

The Alexander Technique has for many years been firmly established in colleges of music, drama and, more recently, dance. We have within our community many experienced teachers working in those fields and there have been several special events with an opportunity for teachers interested in working with performing artists to exchange with others and develop their knowledge: the International Congresses and the Conferences for Alexander Teachers in Music Institutions particularly come to mind.

 

However, these events are very ‘in-house’ and give little scope for sharing our knowledge and experience with people outside the profession. AT Friends is keen to play a part in raising awareness of what the Technique has to offer to performing artists and also to provide a forum in which we can exchange with and learn from others working in that field: voice coaches, speech trainers and therapists, performance psychologists, movement teachers, etc.

 

We plan therefore to host an event entitled The Performing Self, offering themed workshops for performing artists and a forum for exchange with people who practise and teach other disciplines. To explore ideas around this theme, we are bringing together people experienced in this field to form an ad hoc steering committee: John Hunter, Dorothea Magonet, Peter Buckoke, Judith Kleinman and Penny O’Connor. We would be pleased to hear from anyone wishing to get involved with this exciting project: as an organiser, a presenter, with a good idea, or suggesting a good contact who might be interested to join us.

 

Alexander Orchestra

 

An ongoing project is to form an "Alexander Orchestra", made up of musicians who are teachers or pupils of the Technique, which will perform at a Friends Event. Judith Kleinman and Peter Buckoke are beginning to gather together names of potential participants, so if you are a musician and would like to become involved please contact Judith at judeklein(at)blueyonder(dot)co(dot)uk


 

Write-ups of Friends Events

 

 
  The Charity for the F Matthias Alexander Technique: Company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales No. 3153329, Registered Charity, No.1053863