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About Nada Diachenko

Experience & Credentials
Biography
Teaching Philosophy
Students
AT/Somatic Study Resume

Experience and Credentials

• MA in Dance, New York University (NYU), 1989;
  BS in Dance, University of Maryland, 1969
• Jessica Wolf's Art of Breathing (an integration of Carl Stough's Coordinated Breathing and the Alexander Technique) teacher certification, January 2014
• Faculty of Alexander Technique Denver teacher training course, 2013-present
• Assistant Director of Alexander Technique Denver teacher training course, 2010-2012
• Certified Alexander Technique teacher, Alexander Technique Institute, Boulder CO, 1999
• American Society for Alexander Technique (AmSAT) teacher certification (having completed the approved, rigorous 1600 hour training course in 1999)
• Professor of Dance in the Department of Theatre and Dance at University of Colorado at Boulder, 1988-present, where she:
• teaches Dance, Alexander Technique, and injury prevention
• developed the Alexander Intensive Study Track as part of the Somatic Concentration in the MFA program
• Teaches Alexander Technique privately in Boulder, CO
• Conducts Alexander Technique workshops and residences nationally and internationally
• Specializes in workshops for performing artists with extensive expertise with dancers
• Certified Muscular Therapist (CMT) in the Benjamin System of Muscular Therapy, 1984, and Faculty member of the Muscular Therapy Institute
• Forty-year professional dance career as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher including as a soloist with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company and director of her own NYC dance company
• Master Teacher in the Erick Hawkins Modern Dance Technique

Biography

I have a life-long passion for understanding and appreciating the human body and how it moves. My curiosity began at age 7 with dance lessons and continued through my college years, my professional dance career, and into my current life as a university professor and Alexander Technique teacher.

After years of studying various somatic practices (mind-body integration methods) along with my dancing, I was introduced to the Alexander Technique. I had lessons sporadically while in NYC and only started to understand the true benefits of the work when I moved to Colorado. I had regular lessons and then trained with Sumi Komo and Colin Egan at the Alexander Technique Institute in Boulder, CO (1996-1999).

My motivation for studying the technique was to relieve pain and compensation patterns from strain and injury accumulated through years of dancing and forcing my body to push on even when injured. I wanted to undo these patterns, move with ease and less pain, and to teach others how to achieve this for themselves. The Alexander Technique gave me tools to work on my own and the means to apply those tools to my dancing, teaching and way of life.

After completing my training and receiving AmSAT certification in 1999, I developed undergraduate and graduate courses in AT as well as an Alexander Technique Intensive Study in the masters degree program in the Dance Department at University of Colorado.

I have maintained an active private teaching practice and I conduct workshops nationally and internationally. Most recently, I taught workshops in Costa Rica and Brazil where I worked with university students, community and professional dancers, and teachers.

I enjoy the mix of teaching semester-long courses, workshops, and private students of all ages from a variety of occupations. I have a special talent for motivating people to learn about their bodies and take care of themselves. My extensive study of movement, anatomy, various somatic practices, and injury prevention informs my work.

I have co-created a teacher-training course, Alexander Technique Denver (ATDen), with Maedee Dupres as Director and me as Assistant Director. ATDen is structured to meet all requirements for teacher training courses as established by the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT).

Teaching Philosophy

My goal as a teacher is to help students apply the Alexander work to all aspects of life: work, play, and everyday tasks of living. I encourage my students to take responsibility for their learning so that they can embody the principles of the technique and arrive at the place where the overall manner in which they function has improved significantly and they have tools to work with on their own. This can be true in activities as simple as walking or picking up a bag of groceries, in repetitive tasks such as working at a computer, and in specialized activities like running, dancing, gardening, biking, etc.

Students

Students I have worked with include:

• People with back, neck, and shoulder pain
• Actors, dancers, and opera singers
• Musicians who play the violin, clarinet, guitar, and piano
• People with headaches and jaw tension/pain
• Businesspeople
• Those recovering from injury and surgery including hip replacements, cancer, and joint sprains
• Athletes including runners, climbers, weight lifters, and bicyclists
• Professors, researchers, and speakers
• Equestrians