Head of Training:
Richard Brennan M.S.T.A.T., I.S.A.T.T., A.T.I.
Richard Brennan comes from a medical family and began studying the Alexander Technique in 1983. In 1989 he qualified as a teacher of the Technique after completing a three-year teacher training course approved by the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, UK (STAT). He travels throughout Ireland, UK, Europe and USA giving talks and courses on the Technique. He has taught the Technique at many educational centres, including Galway University, Limerick University, Middlesex University, London, and Dartington College of Arts. Richard has been featured in several newspapers and magazines including The Irish Times, The Sunday Tribune, The Irish Examiner, Cosmopolitan, Hello and Home and Country. He has appeared on BBC 1 & RTE 1 and has been featured on BBC Radios 4 & 5 and on local radio around Ireland and the UK.
He is the author of four books on the Alexander Technique which are translated into eight languages, and a further two books on the topic of stress. He has written many articles on the technique and has published a CD and audio-cassette.
Richard has lived in Galway since 1997. He runs a busy private practice there, and established the first Alexander Teacher Training College in Ireland in 1998. For further information please see Richard’s website.
He a founding member and past chair of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT), and has been a pioneer in helping to make the technique accessible to many thousands of people.
Assistant Director:
Michaela Wohlgemuth-Downes BA (Hons), AmSAT (Cert), ISATT
Michaela has been Assistant Director at the Alexander Technique Teacher Training Centre, Ireland, since 2004. She is a co-founder and member of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT).
Michaela was born in Reinbek, near Hamburg in Germany. She left Germany in 1996 for Los Angeles and came to Ireland in early 2003. She has a BA in Sociology and is a fully qualified teacher of the Alexander Technique, having undergone a three year training at the ATI College in Los Angeles, California with the director Lyn Charlson. She was certified by AmSAT.
As well as running a private practice in Castlebar and Westport, and living with her family in Islandeady, she teaches introductory classes and workshops throughout Mayo.
Regular Teachers:
Federico Betti ISATT, ATI, mSTAT
Federico Betti is a fully qualified teacher of the Alexander Technique having completed a 3 year course at the Alexander Technique Teacher Training College in Galway. Originally from Milan, Italy now he lives in Galway where he teaches the Alexander Technique and plays and teaches traditional music from Ireland, France and Italy on the fiddle and guitar. He collaborates with several music institutions in Ireland and in Italy where he holds Alexander Technique workshops for musicians and singers.
Visiting Teachers:
AT the college, we try to have a wide variety of visiting teachers from different backgrounds and trainings. Teachers come from Australia, USA, and many different countries in Europe. This keeps the training alive and exciting.
The following teachers have something very special to offer and are invited to visit on a regular basis.
Rosa Luisa Rossi SVLAT, ATI
Rosa Luisa's passion is to research the complexities of human development and well being. Since 1986, she has taught the Alexander Technique privately, in groups, in schools and companies, mainly in Zurich and in Rheinfelden where she lives, but also around the world. She is Co-Director of 'Think out of the box', a company specialising in Alexander Technique workshops for corporate clients. In addition, she regularly organizes workshops in Switzerland and abroad, which combine the findings of F.M. Alexander with activities such as horseback riding, tennis, tango, singing, music, painting and Japanese Tea-Ceremony, always co-coaching with experienced teachers in those disciplines. She is also offering private lessons, group teachings and workshops combining the Alexander Technique with Vision and good use of the eyes. She worked with a group of music teachers, studying with them how to apply the principles of the Alexander Technique to their own teaching practice. Her teaching expertise draws from continuing education workshops in Europe, the United States and from her numerous teaching trips to Japan. For 7 years, Rosa Luisa was working for the Swiss Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (SVLAT) and was the President from 1994 to 1996. She also worked as a founding member for the International Affiliated Societies agreement. Rosa Luisa Rossi leads workshops in German, English and Italian. She co-leads workshops in French. She loves to come to Ireland to work with teachers here, specialising in how we work with our eyes and vision, in her playful expansive way.
Glenna Batson Dsc, PT, MA, AmSat, ATI, ISATT
Over the last 30 years, Glenna Batson has drawn from multiple forms of movement expression as catalysts for artistic growth and personal development. With a love of synthesis of art and science, she has integrated dance, movement science, and somatics as educator, practitioner, movement coach, and performer.
Glenna extensively studied modern and ethnic dance before obtaining her M.A. in Dance Education from Columbia University Teachers College (1978). In 1977, she was the first person to apprentice with Irene Dowd in Ideokinesis, a mentorship that spanned 4 years and paved the way for a future in somatic education.
Glenna is an internationally recognised teacher of the Alexander Technique (certified, 1988), and has taught in training schools in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Japan, and Australia. She currently is the Alexander Technique teacher in residence at the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA.
Faculty of the American Dance Festival for 15 years, Glenna directs the Contemporary Body Practices course in the Hollins/ADF M.F.A. program. A graduate of Hahnemann Medical University in Physical Therapy, Glenna received her doctorate in clinical neuroscience in 2006.
In 2002, Glenna founded Wellness Partners in the Arts (WPA ), a community arts studio in Durham based on the concept of the Works Progress Administration, facilitating artists work in the community and the showcasing of new work.
She recently formed The Wise Cracks, a performing collective for women over 55, designed to dispel stereotypes of older women.
She is honoured to be a "life member" of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers.
Giora Pinkas
Certified at 16 Ashley place by P.J. Macdonald in 1967, Giora went on to practice in England, Germany, Israel and the United States where, in 1974, he co-founded the first teacher-training course in America, of what are now the International Standards. In the mid-80's he also established training-couses in Frieburg and Heidelberg (Germany), respectively. Since then he continues to offer yearly refresher-courses for teachers throughout Europe. In recent years Giora has been serving AmSAT(USA) as head of Nominating Committee in addition to functioning as evaluator for GLAT (Germany) and a consultant to a number of training courses.
His experience includes working with children in educational settings, in pain-clinics, with musicians, and performing artists.
His focus since 1983 is The Alexander Educational Center. Located in Berkeley, California, it is a centre for training teachers, guest-teachers' workshops and post-graduate training for teachers of various backgrounds. Email: info@alexandertechnique.org .
Giora has been instrumental in helping ISATT seek worldwide affiliation with other Alexander societies.
While being active internationally in making sure that training-standards continue to be as high as possible, he strongly believes in emphasising our common ground and in working harmoniously.
The Training Course Moderator:
Trisha Hemingway
Trisha has been actively teaching the technique since the 70s after being trained by Walter Carrington. She travels throughout Europe and North America and is respected and loved wherever she goes. The training course is honoured to have her as the moderator