Our Wonderful Team

Quotes:

F.M. Alexander

" For in the mind of man lies the secret of his ability to resist, to conquer and to finally to govern the circumstances of his life"

Sam Marion, Piano teacher, organist/choir director, performer

"The teachers are truly world-class in their experience and in their teaching. Every student is allowed to bring his/her own experience into the study and is made to feel comfortable no matter how little AT study he/she has had.  The teacher-student ratio allows for a good mix of group and individual attention.  Having access to so many really good teachers in a 5-day intensive period really increases the learning exponentially."

Moshe Feldenkrais

"Learning to inhibit unwanted contractions of muscles that function without, or in spite of, our will, is the main task in coordinated action."

A neuro-surgeon attendee

These Alexander Technique courses are “state-of-the-art” in understanding “brain plasticity” applied to everyday life.

Chinese Proverb

If you are patient in one moment of anger…you will escape a hundred years of sorrow.

Ambrose Redmoon

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.

J. Krishnamurti

There is great happiness in not wanting, in not being something, in not going somewhere.

Barbara Smith | Beginning Student

"This workshop is helpful for people from beginners to advanced and there is no barrier between people at different levels. We are all travelers together along the Alexander road for a week."

Michael Frederick

The Alexander Technique gives you a “smart tool” to help cope with change and move forward…this work is “green thinking” at its best!

T.K.V. Desikachar

“Whenever you are in doubt, it is best to pause"

Jonathon Leathwood | Alexander Technique Teacher

"I've been to this workshop three times: first as an interested student, then as a teacher trainee, and this last month as a very nearly qualified teacher. Each workshop has been a landmark in my life."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

Chinese proverb

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.

Michael Pritchard

You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.

Moshe Feldenkrais

“You can’t teach anyone anything, you can only create the conditions in which they can learn.”

Nick Erickson, Professor of Theatre

Simply one of the best Alexander Technique courses anywhere…well worth attending. Starting in 1979, these are the original Alexander Technique Residential Workshops. Today there are many complimentary imitators, however why go for second best when you can have the original.

J. Krishnamurti

There is no self to understand, only the thought that creates the self.

T.K.V. Desikachar

"Mastery of yoga is really measured by how it influences our day-to-day living, how it enhances our relationships, how it promotes clarity and peace of mind."

Teaching Staff

Alexander Technique Retreats International

Michael D. Frederick
Founder & Director

Malibu, Tuscany
Michael is an internationally recognized teacher in the field of Psychophysical Re-education.

Michael D. Frederick

Michael is an internationally recognized teacher in the field of Psychophysical Re-education. He trained as an Alexander Teacher in England with Walter Carrington and in America with Marjorie Barstow, both master teachers trained by F. M. Alexander. Michael studied in the U.S. and Israel as a Feldenkrais Practitioner and has extensive Yoga training in both the U.S. and India. He is Co-Director and on the Board of the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles (ATI-LA). Michael is the founding director of the first three International Congresses on the Alexander Technique and has organized over 150 workshops in the U.S. and Europe since 1978. Michael was voted best Alexander Teacher in Los Angeles Magazine’s “Best of L.A.”

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Carol P. Prentice
Co-Director

Malibu, Ojai, Tuscany
Carol trained in the mid-1980s as an Alexander Teacher with Frank Ottiwell in San Francisco, CA.

Carol P. Prentice

Carol trained in the mid-1980s as an Alexander Teacher with Frank Ottiwell in San Francisco at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT). She furthered her training with first-generation Alexander Teachers Marjorie Barstow, Walter & Dilys Carrington, and Marjory Barlow. She has been teaching this work for over 37 years. Carol is also a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist and a graduate of the California College of Ayurveda in Grass Valley. She was on the California College of Ayurveda faculty for eight years. Carol is also a graduate 500-hour Yoga teacher training in the tradition of Sri T. Krishnamacharya from the Healing Yoga Foundation – San Francisco. She has an Alexander, Yoga, and Ayurveda practice in Ojai and Santa Barbara, Ca. and runs the Ojai Women’s Retreat every August. Please visit her website at www.carolpprentice.com or www.HandsOn-Retreats.com

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“The Alexander Technique is not a method of accumulating information nor the art of learning something new. It is, instead, the art of unlearning, which is much more subtle and, sometimes, a more difficult endeavor – unlearning that which is habitual instead of natural – letting go of old patterns and those repetitious opinions arrived at in times and circumstances totally different from those of the present.”
                                                         Laura Huxley, Author, Educator

John Baron-8357

John Baron

Malibu, Tuscany
John has been a full-time teacher of the Alexander Technique for 35 years.

John Baron

John has been a full-time teacher of the Alexander Technique for 35 years, during which time he has practiced in London, Rome, and the Bay Area. He has a theater and business background enabling him to work with a diverse range of organizations, including Google Inc., Fireman’s Fund Insurance, Cal State Hayward, The Sundance Institute, Esalen Institute, Weg Der Mitte (Berlin), San Francisco Ballet, and San Francisco Opera. He co-directed the AEC(teacher training school in Berkeley CA) for 28 years in Berkeley, Ca.  He works as a vocal coach to actors and people in business in the Bay Area. 

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Caren Bayer

Malibu
Caren Bayer received her certification from Patrick MacDonald in London in 1984.

Caren Bayer

Caren Bayer received her certification from Patrick MacDonald in London in 1984. Since then, she has maintained a private practice in New York City as well as leading workshops in Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, England, and Canada. After inheriting Rivka Cohen’s training program, Caren opened Manhattan Center for the Alexander Technique, certifying teachers from 2001-2014. She has been on the faculty of Pacific College for Oriental Medicine and currently has a teaching affiliation with the New School for Social Research. As a former dancer and longtime student of the martial arts, Caren brings 35 years of movement research to her teaching.

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Pamela Blanc

Malibu
Pamela Blanc has been teaching the Alexander Technique for over 42 years.

Pamela Blanc

Pamela Blanc has been teaching the Alexander Technique for over 42 years. She is a founding Director of The Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles,  and currently is the Head of Training and Senior Faculty.  In addition to training individuals to teach the Alexander Technique, Pamela has a private practice in West Los Angeles and is a Senior Teacher of Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing, having trained on Jessica’s first course over 20 years ago and assisted Jessica in instructing other Alexander Teachers in this work. Pamela has retired from teaching in the Music Conservatory of Chapman University and previously held adjunct positions in the Music Departments of UCLA, California State University Northridge, and Theatre School at USC. 

Pre-pandemic, Pamela was invited & able to travel to Australia as the Keynote Speaker for the Australia Alexander Conference in Melbourne, 2019, and is frequently enjoys presenting master classes for various organizations, colleges, and universities.  www.PamelaBlanc.com

 

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Paolo Frigoli

Tuscany
Paolo Frigoli trained as an Alexander Technique teacher in Italy with Frances Robinson and Angelo Cinque, graduating in 1992.

Paolo Frigoli

Paolo Frigoli trained as an Alexander Technique teacher in Italy with Frances Robinson and Angelo Cinque, graduating in 1992. In the following years, he spent several periods of professional development in the United Kingdom at the Brighton Alexander Training Centre directed by John Nicholls, with whom he developed a lifelong learning relationship while taking regular lessons from master teachers Walter Carrington and Peggy Williams. Paolo has taught the Alexander Technique for 30 years individually and in groups, both in his private practice and in public institutions, and has been invited to teach in various Alexander schools in Italy and abroad. In 2015 he started his STAT-approved teacher training course in Italy. Paolo qualified as a physiotherapist in 1989 and then trained in the Mézières method with Dr. Bertelè and in the CranioSacral Therapy of Dr. John Upledger, which is still part of his daily practice.

 

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Michael Gelb

Malibu, Tuscany
Michael is an internationally renowned author, speaker, and consultant who helps individuals and organizations worldwide find innovative solutions to their most important challenges.

Michael Gelb

Michael is an internationally renowned author, speaker, and consultant (and, yes, juggler) who helps individuals and organizations worldwide find innovative solutions to their most important challenges. Since 1979, clients such as DuPont, Merck, Microsoft, and Nike have been inspired and transformed by Michael’s unique, creative approach. This year, we are looking forward to a series of special presentations by Michael Gelb, author of Body Learning, An Introduction to the Alexander Technique, and the best-selling How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. Michael trained as an Alexander Teacher in London during the mid-1970s. www.michaelgelb.comwww.michaelgelb.com

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Lauren Hill

Malibu
Lauren Hill began studying the Alexander Technique in her 20’s looking for help managing chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain.

Lauren Hill

Lauren Hill began studying the Alexander Technique in her 20’s looking for help managing chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain. Besides the physical relief she found with the Technique, she was also drawn to its simple and practical nature. She was trained by Joan and Alexander Murray and has taught in St. Paul, MN, since 2003. She joined the faculty of MinnCAT, a teacher training course in Minnesota, in 2017. Lauren loves learning and is interested in how people learn. She enjoys the challenge of uncovering how each of her students learns best and creating an environment that facilitates their learning of the Alexander Technique. When she is not helping her students find more ease in their daily lives, she is dancing, dreaming up next year’s Halloween costume, or spending quality time out of doors.

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Silvia Sferlazzo

Silvia Sferlazzo

Tuscany
Silvia is an Alexander Technique Teacher, Yoga Teacher, and Dancer with 30+ years of teaching experience. She lives in Florence, where she maintains an active teaching and artistic life.

Silvia Sferlazzo

 
Silvia Sferlazzo is an Alexander Technique Teacher, Yoga Teacher, and Dancer with 30+ years of teaching experience.   She was based in Amsterdam, Holland for over 24 years. Since 2010 Silvia has returned to her home country of Italy and now lives in Florence where she maintains an active teaching and artistic life. She taught at the Amsterdam Conservatory and in other European contemporary dance academies, as well as at the Alexander Technique Teacher Training School in Amsterdam. She has privately taught dancers, musicians, singers, actors, and athletes. She is also a qualified teacher of Yoga - Dancing the Body of Light with Dona Holleman at the European Teacher Training in the Netherlands & also at the International Vijnana-Yoga with Orit Sen-Gupta in Jerusalem.  Above all, whether it's the Alexander Technique, Yoga, or Dance, Silvia loves teaching and brings a joyful spirit to her work.

 

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Sabine Pfeffer

Tuscany
Sabine Pfeffer trained directly with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in Amherst, MA, in 1983. By continuing Moshé Feldenkrais’ original research, Sabine Pfeffer has organized numerous conferences and seminars, bringing together a multidisciplinary approach to learning.

Sabine Pfeffer

Sabine Pfeffer trained directly with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in Amherst, MA in 1983. She has been teaching the Feldenkrais Method for more than thirty-five years and has worldwide experience in teaching and transmitting the Method in workshops and Professional Training Programs.

Sabine is living in Paris. She created the Center Accord Mobile, where she taught and organized 15 Training Programs with her mother, Myriam Pfeffer. (Myriam Pfeffer was a close assistant of Dr. Feldenkrais and introduced the Feldenkrais Method in the French-speaking European countries).

By continuing Moshé Feldenkrais’ original research, Sabine Pfeffer has organized numerous conferences and seminars, bringing together a multidisciplinary approach to learning. This has included neurophysiologists, researchers in movement pedagogy, professionals from the performing arts community, and trainers of the Feldenkrais Method.

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Lyn Charlsen Klein

Malibu
Lyn is currently one of six Co-Directors of the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles.

Lyn Charlsen Klein

Lyn is currently one of six Co-Directors of the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles, teaching regularly on the course. She is one of the founding members of the course and has taught on the course since its inception in 1987.  She was Head of Training for 17 years.

Lyn taught the Alexander Technique at the USC School of Theater from 1980 to 1995 and at California State University in Los Angeles from 1989 – 1999. She has given lectures/demonstrations and conducted courses for Alexander training programs and the general public throughout the United States. She regularly taught residential courses in Virginia and Malibu from the 1990s to 2019.  She maintains a private practice in Van Nuys and Santa Monica, CA.

Lyn had the good fortune to meet and work with first-generation Alexander Technique Teachers Patrick MacDonald, Marjorie Barstow, Elisabeth Walker, and briefly with Marjorie Barlow and Walter Carrington. These teachers, as well as colleagues through the years, have been a deep well of knowledge and inspiration.

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Frances Mardsen

Malibu
Frances trained as an Alexander teacher at the Constructive Teaching Center in London with Walter and Dilys Carrington and has been teaching for over thirty-five years.

Frances Mardse

She completed two years of postgraduate work at the Urbana Center for the Alexander Technique, directed by Joan and Alex Murray. Prior to her Alexander training, Frances studied acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow. She is a member of the faculty and Board of the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles. She teaches at USC, Occidental College, and California State University at Los Angeles. Besides teaching at USC, Occidental College, and California State University at Los Angeles, Frances also teaches for “Shakespeare at the Huntington” and “Intimate Opera Company.” She maintains private practices in North Hollywood and Pasadena, California.

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

Lucia Walker

TBA
Lucia Walker has 35 years of experience teaching AT internationally to both individuals and groups. She is known for gentle, clear, and insightful teaching, along with a sense of curiosity and playfulness.

Lucia Walker

Lucia Walker has 36 years of experience teaching AT internationally to individuals and groups. She works with a wide range of people, including young people, people with chronic illnesses, professional musicians, and singers. She is also a movement artist and teacher specializing in improvisation and finding ways to fully enjoy moving and to be fully present in the moment of performance. She is known for gentle, clear, and insightful teaching, along with a sense of curiosity and playfulness.
Enjoyment of the sense of vitality and well-being that arose from learning the Alexander Technique, and a desire to support people to be more fully themselves and to express themselves more easily in their chosen life activities, stimulated Lucia to train as a teacher.
Lucia qualified in 1987 after three years of training with her parents, Dick and Elisabeth Walker, at the Alexander Teacher Training Centre Oxford. She teaches the technique to individuals and groups and in international teacher training programs and holiday workshops. Working with performers is a particular interest, and she regularly works with classical musicians, singers, actors, and dancers.
She is currently based in Oxford, England, where she and Sharyn West direct Alexander Technique Learning and Teaching Programmes.

Guest Teachers are at hand if a faculty member is unable to teach. This always ensures an excellent 1 to 7 teacher-student ratio.

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Alexander Technique Retreats International

John Nicholls

TBA
John Nicholls trained with Walter and Dilys Carrington from 1973 to 1976. He remained with them for eleven years, assisting daily on the teacher training course and maintaining a private practice at their Constructive Teaching Centre.

John Nicholls

John Nicholls trained with Walter and Dilys Carrington from 1973 to 1976 and remained with them for eleven years, assisting daily on the teacher training course and maintaining a private practice at their Constructive Teaching Centre. He then spent three years in Australia, directing the Melbourne Alexander Teacher Training School. After this, he returned to the UK as director of a teacher training course in Brighton and led postgraduate classes in Britain, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Australia, and the USA. He gave the STAT Alexander Memorial Lecture in 1986, and his book, The Alexander Technique: In Conversation with John Nicholls and Sean Carey, was published in 1991.
In 2003 John moved to New York City, where he offered private lessons, “hands-on” supervision groups for teachers, a teacher training program, and structured postgraduate courses for teachers as well as continuing to travel and teach in Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. He was a featured guest teacher at several AmSAT Conferences, gave the AmSAT Alexander Memorial Lecture in 2005, the Keynote address at the 2014 AmSAT ACGM, and has been part of the Continuous Learning team for three international congresses. In March 2016, John returned to the UK. He has trained over 100 Alexander teachers on three different continents and now spends a large part of each year traveling to teach in many different countries all around the globe.
See johnnichollsat.com for more information, including articles, podcasts, blogs, and calendars.

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