The Retreat Forward Team
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Andrew Gibbons, MM, Feldenkrais Assistant Trainer
A co-founder of Feldenkrais First, Andrew has been a sought after Feldenkrais Method practitioner for over two decades. He has taught Feldenkrais for the Hospital for Special Surgery’s Integrative Care Center, the Doctoral PT program of SUNY Stoneybrook Medical School, for musicians in the Manhattan School of Music's wellness program and in other public programs sponsored by the NY Department for the Aging. He has worked as an ergonomic consultant for The New York Times, and has delivered a Tech Talk at Google’s New York headquarters on Avoiding the Black Hole of Computer Posture. He also contributed a chapter about working with musicians for the book, The Feldenkrais Method: Learning Through Movement (Handspring Publishing, 2021). Since 2008 he has taught Feldenkrais to the elite classical musicians at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. He is a graduate of Columbia University and the Manhattan School of Music.
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Lila Hurwitz, Feldenkrais Practitioner
Lila has been exploring dance improvisation in performance since 1983. A Feldenkrais Practitioner since 1997, she explores the integration of Feldenkrais with dance/movement practices including Contemplative Dance Practice and ensemble improvisation scores. She taught one of Seattle’s longest-running weekly ATM classes for 20+ years, and has taught at Cornish College of the Arts, University of Washington, Brown University and elsewhere. Lila has performed with Nina Martin, Bebe Miller, Lucia Neare, Karen Nelson, Lisa Nelson, Stephanie Skura and many others. She taught Authentic Movement for a decade and designed Contact Quarterly magazine for 11 years. She received a BA in Dance Choreography & Criticism from Hampshire College in 1987. Lila co-founded/co-produced the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation, and is a co-founder of Motion State Arts, a presenting organization supporting innovative dance in Providence, RI. She runs Doolittle+Bird, an arts management firm.
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Jeff Haller, PhD, Feldenkrais Trainer
A co-founder of Feldenkrais First, Jeff is a world-renowned Feldenkrais Trainer. He regards the Feldenkrais Method as a pathway to the inner composure necessary for living a creative life in a challenging world. Jeff studied directly with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, the founder of the Feldenkrais Method. Since 1993, his primary focus has been to train Feldenkrais Method teachers; he has been the Educational Director of 10 trainings. He has taught around the world, while sustaining an extensive private practice in Bellevue, WA. Jeff was a university-level basketball player at Oregon State University when he first encountered the Feldenkrais Method. He graduated from the Feldenkrais Professional Training Program in Amherst, MA, in 1983. From 1984–1991 his studio offered classes in Feldenkrais, Aikido, Yoga, Tai Chi and meditation. Jeff’s background includes an MA in Intercultural Education, a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology, and over 20 years of study in Aikido.
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Fritha Pengelly, Feldenkrais Practitioner
Fritha is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner®, a Certified IOPS Practitioner, an Accredited Certified EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Practitioner and a Matrix Reimprinting Practitioner based in Northampton, MA.
Fritha has over four decades of dance and movement experience. From 1994–2001 she performed and taught internationally as a member of the New York City-based Doug Elkins Dance Company, serving as co-rehearsal director from 2000-2001. Fritha has performed with The Chamber Dance Company, David Neumann, and Wire Monkey Dance. Her dances have been performed at several venues in New York City, The Five Colleges in Massachusetts, Northampton, Darien Arts Center (CT), Seattle (WA), Omaha (NE), and at Jacob’s Pillow.
Fritha received her B.A. in dance from Hampshire College and her M.F.A. in dance, with a focus on anatomy and physiology, from the University of Washington in Seattle. She has taught as a visiting artist at Hampshire College, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Bennington College, North Carolina School of the Arts, Wake Forest University, the Hartt School, and Springfield College.
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Nick Strauss-Klein, Feldenkrais Practitioner
Nick is a 2006 graduate of the New York Feldenkrais Method Professional Training Program and has worked full time as a Feldenkrais Practitioner since 2009. He is the creator and voice of FeldenkraisProject.com, which delivers free, donation-supported, high quality public Feldenkrais class recordings to thousands of monthly online visitors from around the world. He has led classes and workshops at The Feldenkrais Institute of New York and premier health clubs and fitness centers in Manhattan and the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Nick has been a frequent teacher in global online Feldenkrais Summits and Feldenkrais Festivals. He brings to his teaching a background in classical piano performance and teaching, a Master of Music Pedagogy degree from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and over 30 years of individual and class teaching experience.