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Narcissus and Alexander – Reflections on the Origins of the Alexander Technique — 10 Comments

  1. What has replaced “Alexander’s” mirror is the Alexander teacher’s hands and guidance. Another human being. Being that mirror for my students, I am acutely aware of my own reflection in others. I find it not only in my students of course but also in my friends and family. Where I encounter my reflection in a most powerful way however is in Tango dancing.
    I have been dancing for 10 years, never knowing before hand whom I will encounter on my evening’s night out. Each embrace reveals an aspect of myself. Sometimes I melt into it so as to dissolve like Narcissus. I dissolve into bliss rather than in sorrow. Sometimes I turn into a most acutely defined, precise, “high-pitched” dancer, picking up and following the smallest twitch from my partner. The contact with my partner reveals any holding pattern I might have and I release. It reveals any moment my attention drifts away. Then it either turns into a miss-step (where there is doubt) or an opportunity (where there is trust). It offers a lovely balance between my leading skills as an AT teacher and my following skills as an AT (as for Argentine Tango) dancer.

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