Testimonial:

Anamaria Klajnscek (dancer)

Amsterdam University of the Arts - Modern Theatre Dance

I am very grateful to have met with Alexander technique already now. It doesn't only help me as a professional dancer, but even more importantly, changes the way I perceive myself in everyday life. It gave me access to an awareness I didn't know of before. 

It is funny to think back on these three years I have had Alexander lessons regularly. I think I went through many different stages in this time. Starting from the point of trying to understand what these lessons are even about, figuring out where to find the given commands, discovering how I can use it outside of the lessons, slowly revealing some physical changes, getting frustrated with not achieving the wanted, being surprised by the constantly new notion of patterns in the use of self... At the moment, I believe I am in a stage where it is clear to me, how much knowledge this technique can offer. Not that I would believe I learned it all or something. But by now I understand it is about a constant search and questioning, rather than any kind of achievement. 

As I said before, I'm most happy to start discovering this kind of awareness already now, so I can perhaps understand my being a bit better. 

I will keep on discovering and probably turn back to Alexander more intensively in periods when I will feel like I need it more. But already now, I am honestly surprised by all the little discoveries I have had about my body and the way I use it. I noticed so many little details or bigger patterns in my dancing as well as in my ordinary life. Some of them I simply became aware of, others I tried to redirect into a better way. 

Besides the physical changes and the awareness, I think Alexander technique can also give a lot of other knowledge. There are certain principles which can be very useful in many other fields than the physicality. A simple example: Don't just say everything, think about it first, formulate it and then say it in a proper way. 

I think Alexander technique would be very useful for everyone, not only performers. But I guess it is not that easy to enter it. What it needs is a certain dedication, since it cannot work as a short workshop. It really needs to be given through a longer period of time, so a person can truly go through a whole process of understanding and applying it to oneself. And due to this, a high level of trust and willingness to try the unknown are also essential.