Edinburgh Alexander Training School (EATS)

Sarah Bonner-Morgan
BA, MSTAT

Sarah is our Assistant Head of Training. Sarah’s background is in classical music management. She qualified from the Hampstead Alexander Training School in 1999. Since then she has taught privately in Edinburgh, and run group classes for arts, education, business and health organisations in the UK and Europe. Sarah is a singer, flute player, dancer and a student and teacher of martial arts, and these interests naturally inform her teaching.

Sandra Riddell
BA, PGDE, MSTAT

Sandra qualified from Cumbria Alexander Training School in 2005 following a career in health education. In addition to a successful one-to-one teaching practice in Edinburgh, she has delivered numerous group workshops and courses over the years. Her interest in functional anatomy and ‘body mapping’ inspires her teaching. Sandra finds the Alexander Technique wonderfully complements activities she enjoys, such as walking, chi-gung and meditation.

Robert Taylor
BSc, MSTAT

Robert first came to the Alexander Technique while working as a Civil Engineer on international projects such as the Channel Tunnel, which led to a stressed state at work and at home. As Alexander lessons were so helpful to him he decided to undertake a full-time course and qualified from the Cumbria school in 2002. Robert currently teaches the Technique in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and is also a registered biodynamic craniosacral therapist.

Julia Roberts
BSc, PhD, PGCE, MSTAT

Julia completed her training at the Manchester Training School in 2010 and has a private teaching practice in Edinburgh. Her previous research experience in medical cell biology and subsequent career as a secondary school biology teacher have informed her understanding and teaching of the Alexander Technique. She has enjoyed running local group classes on the Wirral and in Edinburgh and delivering Alexander sessions in the workplace.

James Douglas
BMus (Hons), MSTAT

James discovered the Alexander Technique whilst studying at the Royal College of Music (RCM). He had been suffering with chronic pain and debilitating performance anxiety – learning the technique helped him organise his playing and his life. It transformed his life so radically that, as soon as he’d graduated from the RCM, he trained to be an Alexander teacher (at LCATT). James recently moved to Glasgow where he teaches privately and is learning about traditional Scottish fiddle music.

Chrissy Pritchard
BA (Hons), MSTAT

Chrissy was a music producer for BBC Radio 3 but decided to embark upon Alexander teacher training after lessons proved immensely helpful for back and hip pain. Chrissy trained at the Cumbria Alexander Training School and has found the Technique has helped her enormously in horse riding, hillwalking and singing. She is particularly interested in helping others to discover its many benefits and the ways in which it can empower them to enhance performance in a whole range of activities.

Malcolm Williamson
BA, ARCM, MSTAT

Malcolm was Head of Training at the Manchester Alexander Technique School, which he set up in 2001 and where he trained a total of 35 Alexander teachers up to 2017. Since 1985 he has been an Alexander tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Malcolm was a member of the Scottish National Orchestra for many years and then trained as an Alexander teacher with Walter and Dilys Carrington. He served on STAT’s governing council for 10 years, including as Treasurer and Chair, and was Editor of Statnews (1988–2000). Malcolm has written numerous articles and been a contributing author and editor of three books about the Technique. He is also a visiting teacher for training schools in Amsterdam and Tallinn.

Dorothea Magonet
Hon ARAM, MSTAT

Dorothea worked as a physiotherapist before training as an Alexander teacher at the North London School. Since qualifying in 1983 she has taught the Alexander Technique to members of the public in a flourishing private practice and to music students at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she has also organised conferences on teaching the Technique in music colleges. She served on STAT Council (1994–2004), including as Honorary Secretary and Chair. Dorothea was the Main Assistant for the Westminster Alexander Training Course, London 2009–2016; and is a STAT student Moderator and STAT Assessor. She has run workshops in Europe and Japan, and is regularly invited to teach on training courses in the UK and abroad. Dorothea is the STAT Moderator for EATS

Kathleen Ballard
BSc, PhD, MSTAT

Kathleen qualified as an Alexander Technique teacher in 1984. For many years she taught at the Carrington’s school in London and later was a senior visiting teacher at the Manchester training school. She has run numerous workshops for Alexander teachers in the UK and taught abroad. After gaining a PhD in Zoology in 1965, Kathleen joined the Institute of Physiology, University of Glasgow as a lecturer and then Research Fellow. Insights from this background have influenced and inspired her Alexander teaching and writing. Kathleen is a member of the STAT Research Group and was part of the research study team for both the ATEAM back pain trial and ATLAS neck pain trial. She has served on STAT Council and STAT committees. Kathleen’s visits to EATS are now via online.

Erica Donnison
BSc, MSc, MSTAT

Erica graduated from the Cumbria Alexander Training School in 2004 and has since been teaching individuals and groups in Kendal and elsewhere. Her previous career as an Ecologist inspires her teaching with a love of natural movement and a fascination with how everything is inter-connected. Erica is also a qualified Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®️) Feedback Coach and integrates this into her work, with insights into how we learn and communicate.

Sue Fleming
BSc, MSc, MSTAT

Sue lives and works in Manchester, having trained at the Manchester School. She teaches individuals and groups, and has worked across charity and business sectors. She has supported STAT through 8 years on Council (Treasurer and Chair), on the training committee, and currently as International Liaison. Sue is particularly interested in working with the singing voice, and brings the Technique to her garden and allotment, and learning the piano and Tai Chi.

Lesley Glover
BA, BSc, MSc, PhD, MSTAT

Lesley qualified as a teacher of the Alexander Technique in 2014 from the York Alexander Technique School and teaches in East Yorkshire. She worked as a clinical psychologist for many years combining clinical practice, teaching and research, and retired from a Senior Lectureship at the University of Hull in 2021. She is a member of the STAT Research Group and has been active in Alexander Technique research since 2007.

Charlotte Woods
EdD, MSTAT

Charlotte trained at the Manchester Training School, towards the end of a career in education. She retired from the University of Manchester in 2015 after previously working internationally as a teacher, teacher educator and educational leader. She now uses her extensive academic experience for researching and writing about the Alexander Technique, and as a member of the STAT Research Group. She enjoys music, walking, reading and sharing good food with family and friends.