Ron Colyer

I had my first Alexander lessons as a young but very tense postgraduate string player. I had reached a complete block in my violin playing and had lost any confidence that I could go any further.

My first teachers were Dick and Elisabeth Walker, who had both trained with F.M. Alexander. After two years of lessons my Use (and confidence) had sufficiently improved to do some auditions, and I joined the Philharmonia Orchestra, and subsequently the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Increasingly I felt I wanted to pass on the benefits of Alexander’s work, and with the encouragement of Dick and Elisabeth I joined Walter and Dilys Carrington’s Teacher Training Course, qualifying as an Alexander Teacher in 1982.

I was Director of Training at the Alexander Reeducation Centre (ARC) until its closure in 2024. I now give individual lessons and workshops in the Great Malvern area,  and occasional lessons and postgraduate workshops (with Frankie Stringer, my Main Assistant at ARC) in Berkshire.

In my personal journey I am more and more compelled to reflect on and reappraise my understanding of what Alexander wrote, and what those close to him transmitted to those of us fortunate enough to learn directly from them. We must constantly search for ways to express that understanding, both in language and with our hands, so that it is meaningful to the individuals we are teaching.