In Conversation with Ellie Ribeaux - Alexander Technique and Emotions

Here I speak with Ellie Ribeaux, co-head of training of The Centre for the Alexander Technique in Fulham, London. Ellie Ribeaux has been teaching the Alexander Technique for over 50 years. After training she studied biodynamic psychology with Gerda Boysen as well as attending courses in a variety of personal development methods. Formerly a biology teacher, she has taught and given workshops in the Technique to people from many walks of life in a number of different countries including Denmark, Germany and Israel. We explore how she as a young woman made her way from a Kibbutz in Israel to London. She trained with Patrick Macdonald, who was trained by FM Alexander himself, and opened up her own school in cooperation with her husband Peter Ribeaux. She and her husband Peter have both been influenced by a number of other first generation Alexander Teachers including Peter Scott, Walter Carrington, Bill and Marjory Barlow, Dick and Elisabeth Walker, Irene Stewart and Eric de Peyer. They were the longest established Alexander Technique teacher trainers in the UK, opening our course in September 1984 until they closed it in 2017. In that time they graduated some hundred teachers who work in establishments as varied as multinational corporations and drama and music colleges all over the world. The Centre for the Alexander Technique is still situated in their house in Fulham near the River Thames in south-west London. About the Interviewer: Ruth Hommelsheim is an Alexander Technique teacher and photographer based in London. After many years in the art world, she came to London to train with Anthony Kingsley at the Alexander Teacher Training School (ATTS) and graduated in March 2023. She runs a private practice in Shepherds Bush and is now also an assistant at ATTS. Her journey with the Alexander Technique has been deeply transformative, inspiring her to explore and share the profound wisdom of this practice. These conversations aim to capture the personal stories and deep insights of experienced practitioners who have dedicated their lives to understanding and teaching the Alexander Technique. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:41 Background and first contact with AT 03:13 Coming to England 08:21 Starting the training course with Patrick Macdonald 09:06 Working with Macdonald 10:00 Living as an Israeli in London 11:36 Big decision: staying or leaving? 12:51 Something was missing 14:12 Important Realisations 16:54 Meeting her future husband Peter 18:23 Another big decisions and family life 19:32 Experiences during training that changed her view on teaching 20:22 Learning from Gerda Boysen 21:26 Including this work into her AT teaching 23:07 How the training school came about 25:50 Asking Patrick Macdonald for a letter of recommendation 28:32 Keeping the class small enough to work individually 30:13 And now at 85… 32:17 Running the school for 34 years 33:09 Assistant teachers and visiting teachers 34:12 Teaching styles: form vs energy flow 33:38 Covid and the start of online work 38:07 Online work feeding back into hands-on work 41:32 The most important aspect of AT for you? 43:25 Your approach to training students? 46:31 Reading Alexander’s books 48:44 It’s not only about the body 49:18 Brief definition of AT? 51.10 How does change come about? 52:07 End Ellie's website: https://www.ribeaux.com Ruth's website: https://poiseandpresence.info #AlexanderTechnique #EllieRibeaux #poiseandpresence.info