Sarah Barker & Glenna Batson
The Alexander Technique: Evidence from research on its effectiveness for training balance in the elderly
Many models of balance have emerged in human movement science, giving rise to a number of approaches to training balance currently being researched. F.M. Alexander developed a method of poised readiness that current science supports as a “top-down” model of postural control involving unified perception and action. In this lecture-demonstration, the presenters will report the results of an intensive trial of group-delivered Alexander Technique training on measures of balance and balance confidence in persons over 60 years old. The presenters will describe and discuss their method of co-teaching of the Technique over a 2-week period of daily group lessons in a controlled environment. Video observation from the study further will illustrate their pedagogical approach. Reflection on their findings will facilitate integrating elements of this approach to group delivery of the Alexander Technique into teaching the elderly, where fall prevention is of central concern.
Sarah Barker, MFA, is a nationally recognized leader in movement training for actors, is Associate Head of the Acting Program at the University of South Carolina. She was a member of the training and artistic staff of Shakespeare and Company (Lenox, Massachusetts) for eighteen years. She studied the Alexander Technique for seven years with Marjorie Barstow. She is recognized for her innovative work teaching the Alexander Technique for actors. Sarah’s book, The Alexander Technique, (translated in five languages) has been a standard text in many theatre training programs. Sarah Barker is past-president of the Association of Theatre Movement Educators.
Sarah Barker coaches and choreographs movement professionally for the theatre. She is a respected actor trainer and conducts workshops in performing Shakespeare throughout the United States.
Sarah Barker has also acted professionally and in the academy, recently performing Amanda in the Glass Menagerie at Theatre South Carolina.
Glenna Batson, PT, DSc, MA, has devoted the last 30 years to the art and science of self-care and physical expression. She trained with Martha and Bruce Fertman of the Alexander Foundation in Philadelphia, qualifying in 1987, and has taught nationally and internationally in many venues. Glenna is associate professor of physical therapy at Winston-Salem State and the Alexander Technique teacher for the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A former dancer (MA, Dance Education), Glenna has served in many capacities as performing arts coach and arts advocate, including 4 years at the Bates Dance Festival and 15 years as faculty of the American Dance Festival, where she currently directs the Contemporary Body Practices component of the Hollins/ADF M.F.A. program.