performance+
the feldenkrais method workshops
Theatre du Pif conducts Feldenkrais workshops throughout the year at their Sheung Wan Studio, and occasionally on Cheung Chau Island.
"What I'm after isn't flexible bodies but flexible brains. What I'm after is to restore each person to one's human dignity." Moshe Feldenkrais
The Feldenkrais Method offers a unique and practical way to realize our potential more fully. It is an educational method focusing on learning and movement, which can bring about improved movement and enhanced functioning. It is named after its originator, Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984), an engineer and physicist as well as a Judo master.
What are the benefits?
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Increased sense of relaxation and well-being
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Ability to breathe more easily and fully
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Improved feeling of co-ordination and vitality
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More effective and satisfying performance, from sports to the arts
How is it taught?
Through what Feldenkrais called Awareness Through Movement (ATM) classes
These consist of gentle, verbally guided exercises, using unique movement sequences to address specific areas, joints and muscle groups in the body, and all aspects of human functioning. They are easy-to-do, pleasurable and engage the inherent intelligence of our nervous system to create the conditions for successful learning. Awareness Through Movement classes are of benefit to everyone and the results can be extraordinary. You learn at your own rate, organically, by following your sensations of comfort and ease.
The classes will be taught by Sean Curran or/and Bonni Chan the Artistic Directors of the Company. Both of them are professionally trained Feldenkrais practitioners having studied with Myriam Pfeffer (the assistant of Moshe Feldenkrais) for 4 years.
"Feldenkrais has studied the body in movement with a precision that I have found nowhere else." Peter Brook, Stage and Film Director
"The Feldenkrais Approach to Performance" with Deborah Bowes
14-15, 21-22 & 28-29/8 (Sat-Sun)
Sat 11-1pm; Sun 11-1:30pm
Moving through Neutrality Discovering a place of balance and calm where our body and mind are receptive and ready to engage with the world sometime in our lives.
Breathing and feeling yourself Refining your sensing and moving for enhanced presence.
Space and Spaciousness Exploring both our inner space and our relationship to the space all around us.
This Feldenkrais Method workshop is an exploration of your habits of moving and sensing yourself in order to expand your choices. There is a difference between an exploratory movement and a performative movement. You can take the learning from exploring movement into more skillful performance when you need it. The learning process used in Feldenkrais lessons are without fixed goals and they can help to reduce anxiety and to prevent or hasten recover from injuries. You can gain confidence in your ability to generate new options for action.
Each person will get something different from the lessons and have the freedom to learn in their own time, in their own way, without competition or judgment. The mind-body responses can include a sense of more length, width, better breathing, clearer orientation in the environment, and feeling more connected to one's being. The ability to sense oneself in the moment, especially a moment like an audition, or a performance… for example, being able to connect to weight or support, breath, find the right timing, use appropriate effort, and, to know where one is in space... that's the magic for performing well.
This workshop will be especially beneficial to people working in the creative arts field such as performers, directors, writers, producers as well as teachers.
However the workshop is OPEN TO ANYONE, at any level of fitness, as all of us sometimes in our lives have to present ourselves in front of others whether in a formal setting like an interview or in a social situation such as meeting someone for the first time.
Online
HK$1,500
Feldenkrais Movement Lessons for the Neck, Shoulders and Arms
coming soon
Many of our everyday activities such as sitting at our computer, talking or texting on our phones or walking to work can put stress and strain on the muscles of the neck and shoulders. But it is not these activities that are the problem but the way we do them. We often use ineffective and inefficient movement patterns and we don’t pay attention to how we are moving. In these 4 Feldenkrais Movement Lessons you will learn to use your neck, shoulders and arms in more efficient and effective ways that will help to reduce muscular tension in those three areas. Past participants in Sean’s Feldenkrais Movement lessons have reported that afterwards they felt a positive difference in their ability to do basic actions such as turning, walking, typing, and even sleeping while their flexibility, breathing, posture and balance also improved.
Sean Curran is a Certified Feldenkrais Method Practitioner and the Co-Artistic Director of Theatre du Pif.
Venue:
Theatre du Pif Sheung Wan Studio
Conducted in English and Cantonese
4 sessions
Online Feldenkrais Movement Workshops
coming soon
In these 4 online Feldenkrais Movement Lessons you will learn to explore your body in more efficient and effective ways.
Bonni Chan is a Certified Feldenkrais Method Practitioner and the Co-Artistic Director of Theatre du Pif.
Conducted in Cantonese
4 sessions
* Pay-what-you-can
Feldenkrais Movement Lessons for the Hips and Lower back
coming soon
Most of us will suffer some form of lower back pain in our lives. I recently spent 3 days recovering from a back injury I picked up playing football and while I was lucky enough to receive excellent treatment from a Cheung Chau massage master, I am aware that his healing hands though of great help offer only a temporary relief to injury. If I want to be able to continue to play football regularly or practice theatre or sit at a computer helping to write long grant proposals (which I’m currently doing this week!) then I need to find a path to good health that is both self-educating and self-healing.
And how can I do that?
By learning to retrain my brain to reorganize the way I move my body and eliminate unnecessary harmful patterns. For example: If my hips are not functioning well and doing what they’re supposed to do then the muscles of my lower back need to work harder to compensate and this will lead to inevitable discomfort and eventually pain.
Sean will teach a new set of Awareness through Movement® classes that will focus on good use of the hips and lower back. The aim of these classes is to help restore the whole body’s capacity for efficient, flexible and co-ordinated movement.
Whether you are currently experiencing discomfort in your lower back or you simply want to enjoy a favorite hobby or sit more comfortably at your computer then these classes might be of benefit to you.
Sean Curran is a Certified Feldenkrais Method Practitioner and the Co-Artistic Director of Theatre du Pif.
Venue:
Theatre du Pif Sheung Wan Studio
Conducted in English and Cantonese
4 sessions
Feldenkrais Movement Workshops
coming soon
Reaching From a Place of Stability
A set of classes for theatre practitioners to explore the work and inspirations of Moshe Feldenkrais on Monday afternoons. We will do awareness through movement (TM) lessons as well as reading together some of Moshe’s writings. The workshops welcome the participation of performers, theatre artists/ curators, designers, art administrators and technicians.
Bonni Chan is a Certified Feldenkrais Method Practitioner and the Co-Artistic Director of Theatre du Pif.
Venue:
Theatre du Pif Sheung Wan Studio
Conducted in Cantonese
4 sessions
* Pay-what-you-can if you are experiencing financial difficulties.
Feldenkrais Movement Lessons for Healthy and Dynamic Legs
coming soon
The experience of doing a Feldenkrais (Awareness through Movement®) lesson can give you the opportunity to understand yourself in new and exciting ways.
As you are guided to combine a series of gentle movements with relaxation and attention, useful sensory information is communicated between your brain and body. This encourages new learning which interrupts old patterns and allows healthier movement and improved posture to emerge.
Sean will teach 4 Awareness through Movement® lessons that are beneficial for restoring the healthy and efficient function of your hips, knees, feet and ankles.
Sean Curran is a Certified Feldenkrais Method Practitioner and the Co-Artistic Director of Theatre du Pif.
Venue:
Theatre du Pif Sheung Wan Studio
Conducted in English and Cantonese
4 sessions