Performing Arts
Explore your full potential
The body as your instrument
The body is the main tool of those who work in the performing arts. It is your instrument.
That’s why it’s necessary to know how to tune and sharpen it. Getting to know our instrument is a lifelong work. The more you learn to tame it, the more you will be able to add strings to your bow.
My practice and my research as a performer and choreographer have led me to study and explore several approaches to somatic education.
Among other things, I have had the honor and pleasure of studying with the pioneer of post-modern dance Anna Halprin, as well as the Feldenkrais Method® with Dennis Leri, Elizabeth Beringer, David Zemach-Bersin, and Carol Kress in California. I was first introduced to the method by Marie-Lorraine Bérubé, Suzanne Charbonneau, and Warwick Long in Quebec.
I have tried other approaches such as the Continuum Movement, the Alexander Technique, as well as Body Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. All of these approaches can help you expand your repertoire and better maintain your voice, your body, and also your mind.
I have also taught movement, contemporary dance, the creative process, and contact improvisation at various institutions such as:
- Concordia University in Montreal -Contemporary Dance Department
- University of California at Davis – Department of Dance and Dramatic Arts
- University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) – Department of Dance
- California Institute of Integral Studies
- Axis Dance Company
- Berkeley Rep School of Theater
More and more dance, theater, and music programs include the Feldenkrais Method® as part of their curriculum. It expands your repertoire of movements and allows you to search deep within. By adding this type of inquiry into your practice, you will have more precision, refinement, and nuances in everything you do.
My teachings invite you to be curious, to listen, and to explore habits, whether it is a trajectory, a tension, a way of breathing, or a creative structure.
By asking yourself questions about yourself and your choices, you will be able to explore your full potential!
"I am a lyric singer and the Feldenkrais Method® has been a big eye-opener for me. Singing requires significant physical involvement, but there is a fine line between muscle support and harmful tensions. With her gentle approach, Christine helps me develop my intuition by helping me enter into dialogue with my body. For example, working on the pelvis helps to centralize my energy and this has a direct impact on my breathing. My interpretation becomes calmer and I feel confident. Christine's classes and Feldenkrais'® concepts fit in perfectly with my development and are now an integral part of my artistic practice. I highly recommend these trainings to anyone who wants to get to know themselves better!"
Klara Martel-Laroche
Student at the Montreal Conservatory of Music
"Working with Christine was a dream. She yielded lots of knowledge about movement and anatomy in a digestible way. Within her assessment, she enabled me to think critically about my own patterns, so that they were clear and evident to both of us. It was from this place that treatment began and addressed glaring issues directly. Admittedly, I fell asleep on her table (a sign that my body needed to rest!), but I left with an embodied understanding of how to inhabit my body differently. I wish all body working sessions were like hers."
Nick Brently
Professional Dancer
Photo Credits: 1 & 3) Emilie Pelletier | 2) Silas King | 4) TEDx – featuring Slater Penney
