Workshops
UpComing Workshops
April 29 -30 2023, Lefkada, Greece.
May 27– Jun 3 2023, Arillas, Corfu, Greece
Ongoing Online Workshops Contact Deborah for details – deborahjeanne@gmail.com
Registration Carfu, May 27-Jun 3 2023: Though it is happening in Corfu, and I will be teaching in English – the registration link is in German. It’s a beautiful place, and the price includes room and board and other activities, not just my workshop. It’s walking distance to a beautiful beach in Arillas, Corfu. The price includes a nice room, three meals and other activities that happen at the retreat center. Click to Register
Finding Ease in Movement, Sound and Breath
Discover the intuition of your body and mind with the Alexander Technique
Perhaps you wish to sing or dance or speak or move with more ease, perhaps you feel you are holding back in your passions? This class will shine a light on what may be stopping you. In a relaxed, non-judgmental, yet stimulating atmosphere we will deepen our understanding of how we use ourselves and how to improve this use. And with gentle guidance, we will explore our unique and expansive potential.
As we move away from our habits of ‘doing’ and critical thoughts and move more into ‘being,’ we experience the natural wisdom in our bodies and come closer to our authentic self. What makes us feel foolish can also be a hidden treasure of creativity. We might surprise ourselves as we challenge our habits with fresh curiosity and wonder and learn to redirect the energy of our resistance so we can become more present and alive.
You will leave this workshop with new inspiration, with tools of how to practice and play the instrument of your being.
The Alexander Technique is a well-proven method to transform excessive tension into useful energy and improve the way we use our talents and resources. It has helped thousands of people find greater freedom and ease in speaking, singing, moving, breathing, playing an instrument or even sitting at the computer.
Deborah Jeanne Weitzman is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique. She holds a university degree in Music and Theatre and has been a teacher of voice, theatre, movement and the Alexander Technique for over 30 years. As a singer-songwriter, she has toured the world and her recordings Beneath Your Moon, Right Here, Touch the Sky, For the Feel of the Wind and the newest release Briefly Mine are available on Spotify and other platforms. Pandora Learns to Sing, a memoir, is available on Amazon.
“This workshop, facilitated by Deborah Jeanne Weitzman, turned out to be an invitation to come alive, and discover who I am and what is possible when I get out of my own way! I sang, I danced, I cried, all in a way I had thought I could no longer do. With kindness and mischievous humor, Deborah helped us find our space to share as much or as little as we chose. She listened, encouraged and fed us tiny treasures to help realize the ease of our beings. I came to the workshop feeling insignificant, needy and a wall of negativity. By the end, I felt bountiful, loving, and so powerful the whole large room wasn’t big enough to contain me.” (Tia, Ireland)
“It was an amazing experience working with Deborah and just the step I needed to go further in my life: To decompress more, to let go more, to show more of me, I discovered my power and will continue now to discover how to be in the world with less effort, yet with pleasure! I learned about how fear is working in our systems and how to manage it to turn it around. All with acceptance and no judgment.” Kate, Orval, Belgium
How it can enhance freedom and power
in the Performing Arts – at all levels.
We are so accustomed to the tensions we carry with us throughout the day that, unless we are in pain we rarely notice it. Yet it has a powerful impact on every goal we set out to accomplish. Often we have strong impulses and desires to do a task or a creative act but there is something stopping us. What is this something? And is it changeable?
The Alexander Technique provides a means for understanding what this is and how we are actually using ourselves, what we are actually doing, even if we feel something else. By becoming more aware, it is possible to change harmful (and mostly unconscious) habits. We then can experience a new sense of freedom, improvement in overall health, alertness and performance in all activities.
In a private class the focus is entirely on what the student needs to work on, and in many cases un-learn, so as to truly find what is really there This can give an amazing amount of confidence, and improvement of one’s skills in the applied task, whether it be to sing, or play an instrument. The Alexander work is specific and yet flexible and even in a group setting – the individual needs of each student will be met.
In a workshop there will be the added dynamic and stimulus of being in a group which can, as Mr. Alexander found out himself, change everything. The day will include: warming-ups, exercises, awareness work, learning the Alexander Technique and gradually applying it to a specific activity. In a relaxed, non- judgmental, yet stimulating atmosphere we will deepen our understanding of how we use ourselves and can improve this use.
F.M. Alexander (1869-1955)
F.M. Alexander being an actor, was concerned with the use and mechanics of the voice, breath and movement. Over the years his “work” now called the “Alexander Technique” has evolved and can be applied to all aspects of living. However for all those engaged in activities that demand the fine tuning of muscles and precisions of thought this work is indispensable and profound. The Alexander Technique is geared for anyone who is interested in the further development of oneself. This work is invaluable for those who would like more freedom in their breath, and in all activities that require some form of breath support and awareness. It is targeted for singers, dancers, actors, musicians of any instrument, or for those curious to awaken these skills. All levels welcome, from the hobbyist to professional.
Deborah Jeanne Weitzman
Deborah travels and connects with people all over the world through her work as performer, writer, dancer and truth-seeker.