Acting and the Alexander Technique
with Bill Connington

F.M. Alexander was an actor. The Alexander Technique has had a close connection with actors, singers, dancers, and public speakers since the 1890s. Join Bill for this special on-going acting class. The principles of the Alexander Technique will be used to show you how to become more of the performer you are, and want to be. Bill takes a gentle, inclusive approach. The class is open to performers of all kinds, as well as Alexander teachers – all are welcome. We will explore how freeing the psycho-physical self can open the breath, the body, the voice, and the creative impulse. 

Mondays : October 4th – December 13th (no class Oct 11- Indigenous People’s Day)
5:30 – 7:00pm
10 class series – $22 per class ($220) Use coupon code ACTSERIES10 in checkout
5 class series – $23 per class ($115) Use coupon code ACTSERIES5 in checkout
Single class – $25 per class (to be considered on an individual basis)

Limited to 12 participants

Depending on current CDC guidelines, masks may be worn in class. All participants are required to show proof of vaccination.

Bill Connington is an actor and filmmaker. His films include Love, Repeat, and the upcoming psychological drama, Poughkeepsie is for Lovers. He teaches the Alexander Technique at Yale School of Drama, and in private practice. Bill formerly taught at Juilliard, NYU, and the Actors Studio MFA Program. He is the author of Introduction to the Alexander Technique (Methuen/Bloomsbury). www.billconnington.com

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.) 

A Fresh Start—Intro to Alexander Technique for Performers
with Kevin Munhall

As we begin to get back to auditions, self-tapes and productions, this class offers the Alexander Technique as a framework for reducing all the tension and stress that can creep into our bodies, minds and inevitably our work. In this class, we’ll explore all the subtle performance habits that hold us back and you’ll learn a step-by-step process for taking more control over how you move, speak, and sing. lt will be a playful and restorative class that requires no previous experience. Come learn why The Alexander Technique is fundamental to the training at top acting, music and dance programs like Juilliard and Yale.

Tuesdays: October 5th – November 2nd 
6:00pm-7:30pm
5 class series – $23 per class ($115) Use coupon code FRESHSTART5 in checkout
Single class – $25 per class (to be considered on an individual basis)

Limited to 12 participants

Kevin Munhall is an AmSAT Certified Alexander Technique Teacher who has brought this work to corporations, universities, and small businesses such as TouchCare Health, Dvora Properties, American University, Montclair BABY, & Bwè Kafe. He is also an actor/singer/dancer seen on Broadway in TOOTSIE, ANASTASIA, ALLEGIANCE, and ANYTHING GOES and on TV in “Smash” and “One Life to Live.” As a theatre educator he has taught workshops for The Broadway Collective, The Levine School of Music, UT Austin, Sam Houston State, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, & more. He has a BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Michigan. 

You can find out more about his work at habitdisruption.com or check out his eCourse Desk Dynamics: Alignment and Awareness Training for a Pain-Free Workday at painfreeworkday.com.

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.) 

Embodied Breath & Voice
with Max Rosenak

Cultivate your dynamic and powerful breath and voice using the principles of the Alexander Technique. In this five-week class we will engage in an investigatory process, working with the underlying principle that the breath, voice, mind and body are an interconnected whole, and that the voice works best when we have come into a more coordinated and balanced pattern of tension through the breath and body. Exercises will help you learn to unlock the natural coordination and flexibility of your breath, and then connect it organically to your powerful voice. All are welcome. This class will meet you where you are in your vocal journey, and is appropriate for voice users at any level. Space is limited to 12 participants.

Tuesdays: November 9th – December 14th, (no class Nov. 23rd)
6:00-7:30pm
5 class series – $23 per class ($115) Use coupon code BREATHSERIES5 in checkout
Single class – $25 (to be considered on an individual basis)

Limited to 12 participants

Depending on current CDC guidelines, masks may be worn in class. All participants are required to show proof of vaccination.

Max Rosenak is an AmSAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, a Patsy Rodenburg Registered Teacher of voice & text (RRT), and a professional actor and director. He received his MFA in acting from A.C.T in San Francisco, and subsequently trained extensively as a voice teacher with Nancy Benjamin, Patsy Rodenburg and Jeffrey Crockett, specializing in Shakespeare. He trained with second generation Alexander teachers Nanette Walsh and Lori Schiff at the Riverside Initiative for the Alexander Technique. He is a founding member of the living wage Seattle-based theater collective, The Williams Project, and has appeared in film, tv and in theaters nationwide. He has directed plays for NYU, The Atlantic Conservatory and the 52nd Street Project. Max has taught voice & text at NYU, The American Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop (AMAW), Drew University and more. www.maxrosenak.com

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.) 

Pilates through Alexander
with Robin Schiff

We’ll stay true to the Alexander Technique while playing with Pilates based fundamentals as a vehicle for encouraging healthy movement patterns. All levels of experience are welcome and alternative movements will be offered as needed. For AT trainees and teachers, practical suggestions for teaching will be given throughout. Please feel free to email me at rmschiff@gmail.com regarding any concerns or specific conditions. 

This class is a hybrid, participants may sign up for in-person or Zoom.

Thursdays : October 7th – November 4th

2:30pm – 4:00pm
Studio attendance limited to 8 people

4 class series – $23 per class ($115) Use coupon code PILATES4 in checkout
Single class – $25 per class *single class as well as zoom attendees, please register by 24 hours in advance*

Robin Schiff has been teaching the Alexander Technique for over 30 years and Pilates for the last 18. She developed and taught both subjects for the Brooklyn College Department of Kinesiology, where she worked with faculty and students for 17 years. She was previously on the faculty at Mannes Conservatory and taught at AmSAT meetings in San Francisco, Boston and New York, several Alexander trainings, and special populations throughout NYC. While Robin continues to teach and love pure Alexander lessons, it’s her mild cerebral palsy and early experience as a music therapist which led her to combine Pilates with the Alexander Technique. Currently Robin is on the faculty at RIAT and maintains a lively private practice in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Zoom.

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.) 

Restorative Yoga — Resting Deeply, Breathing Freely
with Karla Booth

This deeply relaxing and comforting yoga practice uses supported postures on the floor to allow the body to unwind and release tension – returning us to a state of ease.  The class will begin with a gentle movement section before moving into resting postures where Karla’s guidance and direction will facilitate the awareness and release of tension so that we can experience what it truly means to rest.  No experience is necessary. 

Saturdays: November 13th, December 4th
3:00- 4:30pm

Single class – $25 per class

This class will be limited to 12 participants. Registration ends 48 hour in advance of each class.

Karla Booth, M.AmSAT is a senior teacher of the Alexander Technique and certified Yoga Instructor specializing in Gentle and Restorative Yoga designed to calm the nervous system and restore ease and breath.  

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.) 

Tai Chi and the Alexander Technique
with Caren Bayer

In this class, we will explore the relationship between Tai Chi and the Alexander Technique. Each week we will build on circularity and volume in movement, learning to rotate around a stabilized axis, while maintaining precise directions. As we anchor and free our chi, we will then transfer this into our walking and chair work for greater clarity in our teaching.

Tuesdays: October 5th – November 9th
4:45pm – 5:45 pm
6 Class series – $23 per class Use coupon code TAICHI in checkout
Single class – $25 per class

Limited to 10 participants. Enrollment ends 48 hours before each class.

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, Carenopened Manhattan Center for the Alexander Technique, certifying teachers from 2001-2014. She has been on the faculty of Pacific College for health and medicine and the New School for Social Research. As a former dancer and longtime student of the martial arts, Caren brings 40 years of movement research to her teaching.

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.) 

Performing with Ease: From the Practice Room to the Stage
with Lena Vidulich

Explore ways to bring ease and clarity into your practicing and performing. Learn to improve your coordination, breathe easier, and manage tension and performance anxiety. Open to all instrumentalists/vocalists and ranges of experience with AT. All are encouraged to bring instruments to sessions.

Mondays: November 8th, 15th, 22nd, December 6th, 13th (no class Monday Nov 29th)
3:30 – 5:00pm
5 class series – $23 per class ($115) Use coupon code PERFORM5 in checkout
Single class – $25 per class (to be considered on an individual basis)

Lena Vidulich is a musician and AmSAT-Certified Alexander Technique teacher. She completed her three-year training with Nanette Walsh and Lori Schiff at the Riverside Initiative for the Alexander Technique. Additionally, Lena is a violinist and violist performing across the country with groups such as Quartet121, earspace, Talea Ensemble, and the Louis Moreau Institute. She earned her BM from Northwestern University and MM from Manhattan School of Music.

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.) 

Alexander Technique & Science 33 week Webinar
offered by Drs. Tim Cacciatore and Patrick Johnson

We are very excited to announce an expanded version of the acclaimed AT Science Webinar offered by Dr. Tim Cacciatore and Dr. Patrick Johnson during RIAT’s school year. This course is about current science and the Alexander Technique. Participants will leave with a framework of up-to-date concepts for thinking about and communicating about the Alexander Technique. The class is designed for teachers in training, but dedicated AT students are welcome. Drs. Tim Cacciatore and Patrick Johnson will facilitate Q&A sessions 10 out of the 33 weeks. The class will run in conjunction with Dr. Molly Johnson’s AmSAT teacher training course in Austin, Texas. Molly, also a scientist, will also be leading Zoom discussions.

“Dr. Cacciatore is the single living scientist who has contributed the most to a scientific understanding of the neurological underpinnings of the Alexander Technique. Dr. Johnson is a respected and highly cited physicist. Between them, they offer a depth and breadth of expertise surpassing any other public offerings on the topic.”
–Rajal Cohen, Ph.D., M.AmSAT, Associate Professor and Director of Mind in Movement Lab at the University of Idaho, USA

When: Tuesdays, September 7th – June 14th, 3:15pm-4:15pm EST, or at your own pace.
All sessions are recorded.
Late-comers welcome!

Once registered you will receive the AT Science Zoom link, and be invited to the AT Science google classroom, where you will find all course materials and recordings. 

Where: AT Science Zoom link (You are also welcome to join us in-person at RIAT and participate in Tuesday zoom discussions live.)
Fee: 350 euros ~ approx. $13 per week. 

Everyday Movement for All – Bringing Vitality, Ease and Balance to Your Day to Day Activities
with Becky Sandler

This class is designed for older adults. Together, we will tease apart the common habit of using more tension than necessary when we hold our fork, get up from our chair, bend down to tie our shoes or prepare dinner. We will explore simple tools to help you feel balanced on your feet and easier in your mind and body as you go about your day. 
Each class will begin with moving to music, and include a mindful movement sequence as well as a time for a guided constructive rest, an Alexander Technique practice of lying down that quiets the nervous system and illuminates choices for how to move, breathe and respond to life’s daily challenges.

5 class series – $23 per class ($115). On Zoom.

Tuesdays: November 9th – December 7th

10:00am – 11:15am

Becky Sandler teaches both private and group Alexander Technique lessons in midtown Manhattan, Dutchess County, NY, and online. She completed her 3-year, 1600 hour teacher certification at Riverside Initiative for the Alexander Technique (RIAT). She has extensive training and experience in education, early childhood yoga, movement, and Tai Chi, and loves sharing the benefits of the Alexander Technique with people of all ages. Becky assisted Emily Faulkner in teaching the Alexander Technique to the blind and visually impaired at The Lighthouse Guild, and is committed to helping older persons and people with less mobility discover greater stability and more comfort, ease and confidence with daily activities.  In addition to her Alexander Technique teacher certification, Becky holds a Masters of Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education and a Masters of Library Science from the University of Missouri. Connect with Becky at myeverydayposture.com.

Elements of A.T. Teaching
with Joan Frost

This 5 week class explores elements of teaching the Alexander Technique, as follows:
Wk 1: Chair work: When to provide substantial support to your student in going from standing to sitting and how to support your student’s weight such that your own use isn’t compromised and your own system (including your arms, wrists, and fingers) continues to flow.
Wk 2: Table work: Using table work as a means for exploring qualities of attention —becoming more clear when your awareness is narrowing, such as in end-gaining, becoming identified with a part, or pulling forward vs. being back.
Wk 3: Procedures: Going onto toes as a means of clarifying “up”; Shifting weight side to side; Variations of formal lunge.
Wk 4: Breathing/Voice: Exploring rib cage mobility on the table, in sitting, and in standing.
Wk 5: Activities/Application work: Climbing stairs, teaching lunge in daily life, participants’ choice.

Wednesdays, Nov. 10, 17, Dec. 1, 8, and 15
1:00pm – 2:30pm
5 class series – $23 per class ($115) Use coupon code ELEMENTS5 in checkout
Single class – $25 (to be considered on an individual basis)

This class will be limited to 10 participants.

Joan Frost has been involved in the movement field for over 50 years, earning her B.A. degree in Theater Arts: Dance from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1975, and her teaching certificate from ACAT in 1983. She joined the ACAT faculty in 1984, and served as Director of Teacher Certification from 1994-1995, and from 2001-2008. Joan has taught the Alexander Technique at The Juilliard School, the Diller Quaille School of Music, Sarah Lawrence College and The New School. She continues to enjoy teaching, maintaining a private practice in Stratford, CT, Tappan, NY, and in Manhattan.

(Scheduler tip to register for more than one class: Select the first date you’d like, and choose “add time”, it will save the class to the right of the calendar, then select the other dates you’d like until you have all your dates, then choose continue.)