Gerda Alexander

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Gerda Alexander (February 15, 1908 – February 21, 1994) was a Danish teacher who devised Eutony, a method of self-development.

She was born in Wuppertal, Germany, but in 1929 she moved to Denmark. Alexander's parents were believers in eurythmy, before passing on to her a similar ardent interest in the movement.

Alexander, a young woman with rheumatic fever and endocarditis, was facing multiple crises.

This caused her to seek ways to move that did not exacerbate her symptoms.

Long periods of rest encouraged her to investigate inside herself, looking for a "more effective" and more natural form of movement, as well as the investigation of human movement's neural correlates.

"It's important, in medicine, not to give and do more than is necessary, so the other will depend on himself."

It is not that I am a great master who gives you assistance.

Rather, I can guide you into my own self-discovery project. Alexander's invention, Eutony, is described as "a form of body-centered psychotherapy" that "posits "blocked energy" and a collective unconscious," Quackwatch notes.

Life and work

Gerda Alexander was born in Wuppertal, Germany, and her parents were avid supporters of Dalcroze Eurhythmics, passing on her an interest in arts and movement.

Gerda was born in Germany under the influence of Émile-Jaques Dalcroze. Gerda says that the "first contact [she] had with Dalcroze's work were some photographs from the first festival in Hellerau in 1911." She began enrolling in the school of Otto Blensdorf (the Blensdorfschule) in Wuppertal-Elberfeld and became an active assistant to the school's activities. Charlotte Blensdorf (Otto's daughter) was invited to teach Rhythmic Education for children and teachers at the first Institute for Scientific Pedagogical Research, led by Peter Peter Petersen, internationally known for the Jena-Plan, a postgraduate curriculum for teachers in free schools in 1926. Gerda served as Charlotte's assistant during this program and spent a year of practical service at Stradtroda, a government of Thüringen that treats all sorts of troubled children and young adults up to the age of 21, as well as criminal cases. "I have never learned so much in pedagogy as during the year," Gerda says of this project.

In 1929, Gerda was educated in Berlin's Hochschule für Musik. In this period, Dalcroze Eurhythmics was taught in all major universities and music schools in Germany.

Gerda's mother had multiple outbreaks of rheumatic fever, heart disease, and an endocarditis, which reduced her mobility, from 16 years old. She was hospitalized several times and had to find ways to move that did not overburden her circulatory system. She began to explore new ways of moving after being frustrated with her own personal experiences, ongoing discussions with her students of all ages, and an enthusiastic inquiry into artistic growth. "I tried to figure out how I could write every person's own words without programming him/her," the author says in her own words. At the same time, there was a personal need to learn how to survive."

Gerda moved to Denmark after being asked to serve as assistant to Otto and Charlotte Blensdorf at the world congress of "New Education Fellowship" and then to lecture between Denmark and Sweden. With the Second World War, she decided to stay, and she lived in Copenhagen for almost half of her life. Gerda Alexander was in charge of the "First International Congress for the Liberation and Functional Movement" in Copenhagen, which was funded by the Danish Ministry of Education in 1959. On this trip, she assembled many psychosomatic scholars and method designers (methods that later became "somatic activities" or "somatic education methods)).

Gerda worked in collaboration with organisations including: Fröbel Schools, Philharmonie Malmö, Private Theatre School, the Royal Theatre Copenhagen, the Danish Broadcasting House, the Danish Broadcasting House, Danmarks University, and others (orchestra, choir and others), Royal Music Conservatory, Danmarks Lrn, CEMEA - Centres d'Entrainement aux Méthodes d'Education Active), and others. She gave lectures and workshops in Danmark, Sweden, Norway, Norway, France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, USA, Israel, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina.

Gerda Alexander died six days after her 86th birthday in Wuppertal, where she had lived for the past few years. Her students are still studying in various countries around the world today.

According to Jean-Marie Huberty, these were the key historical influences on Gerda's work.

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