The Committee for Alexander Technique in the Performing Arts (CATPA) will facilitate a structured conversation for Alexander Technique teachers and trainees exploring how we meet the moment when a student presents an emotional or psychological response during a lesson.
In our work with actors, dancers, and musicians, such moments are not uncommon. Because Alexander Technique invites increased awareness of habitual neuromuscular coordination and nervous system patterns, shifts in use can sometimes coincide with unexpected emotional responses. Yet explicit conversation about how to navigate these moments—ethically, skillfully, and within scope of our practice remains somewhat limited and sometimes even avoided.
As a committee, we have found it helpful to share personal approaches and resources when these situations arise, learning from and inspiring each other. Drawing on our collective experience, we seek to open a dialogue about trauma-informed and consent-forward practices that support student safety while staying within the scope of what our teaching is. As our cultural landscape shifts and students arrive with increasingly complex lived experiences, this conversation feels both timely and useful.
Kelley Schoger is an actor, theatre director, intimacy director, and Assistant Professor of Acting at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique (Virginia) since 2014 and a certified instructor of Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing since 2023... Read More →
