A Tribute to Patrick Macdonald 1910-1991
Workshops from October 2010 to June 2011
TIMINGS OF WORKSHOPS
Saturday: 10.00 – 16.30
Sunday: 10.00 – 16.00
To pay tribute to the exceptional work of Patrick Macdonald and to mark the centenary of his birth, a series of classes and lectures will take place at the new Studio One in North London during the 2010-2011 season.
Four of his Israeli students, all of whom were trained by Mr Macdonald in the nineteen fifties and sixties, will give one week each of lessons, group work and lectures. They are Shmuel Nelken (1959), Shaike Hermelin (1966), Yehuda Kuperman (1967), and Giora Pinkas (1967), chosen because they did not settle in London and hence their work has not been readily available to the British community of Alexander teachers and pupils.
Ted McNamara, Mr Macdonald’s close disciple, will inaugurate the series.
Presenters will offer a week-end workshop followed by four days of private and/or smaller group lessons, and work with training courses as requested. Places are limited and early booking is recommended.
These events will bring different aspects of Patrick Macdonald’s work to the fore. Some teachers will share hitherto unseen films of Mr Macdonald at work in America, selected photographs and letters from his archive, and most of all personal reminiscences and readings from their lifetime of experiences training with and re-visiting their beloved master teacher.
Patrick Macdonald put many important questions to our profession, ones which are worth keeping alive and on the fire. His remarkable attention and fidelity to the core principles of the Technique, his insistence on understanding the force of habit, his extraordinary virtuosity, and his unique contributions to the principle of opposition and the primacy of the back all make for compelling reasons to devote a season to re-examining his legacy.
For further information, please contact Anne- Marie O’Mahoney, Event Co-ordinator at pmtribute@gmail.com
*Nelly Ben-Or has graciously agreed to replace Shmuel Nelken, who was originally booked for this date and is unable to travel to London for reasons of health.
Workshops for this Past Event
Ted McNamar
Saturday 02 October 2010
Sunday 03 October 2010
Ted’s workshop will address opposition and the rotation of the spine–opposition between the hands and back and opposition between the pupil and teacher. This principle may be illustrated with a few DVD’s throughout the workshop.
Shaike Hermelin
Saturday 12 February 2011
Sunday 13 February 2011
The themes of Shaike’s workshops will be: “What did Alexander see in the mirror?” and Macdonald’s special directions, “Aim up and stay back” and “Wrist free”.
Giora Pinkas
Saturday 26 March 2011
Sunday 27 March 2011
The Basic and the Lofty:The Technique is about Consciousness. It deals with the vast Whole Self. Yet emphasizing neck-head-back is highlighting the physical. What are the non-physical equivalents to “head-neck-back”? What are the obstacles to continued learning and growing. Nothing new in posing this question…still it might be worth revisiting together*. Lightly.
Ted McNamara
Saturday 07 May 2011
Sunday 08 May 2011
By popular request, there will be an additional workshop with Ted McNamara. Ted’s workshop will address opposition and the rotation of the spine–opposition between the hands and back and opposition between the pupil and teacher. This principle may be illustrated with a few DVD’s throughout the workshop.
Yehuda Kuperman
Saturday 18 June 2011
Sunday 19 June 2011
We all know about the principles of the Alexander Technique. These principles are simply names for human and spiritual truths hidden within them. When this is understood, the touch of hands will express and explain these truths. Macdonald’s hands expressed these truths with beauty and clarity. In this workshop we will feed the touch with this understanding.