Frederick Schjang

Larry Goldfarb

Maggy Burrowes

Nick Strauss-Klein

Alan Questel

Scott Fraser

Connor Voss

Stacy Barrows

Peggi Honig

Michael Landau

Fritha Pengelly

Joyce Lu

and many others!

History of the LGBTQA Online Festival

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

Goethe

For the past several years, I have taught Feldenkrais® classes and hosted Feldenkrais Festivals in New York City for the general public and for LGBTQA elders. The Festivals always feature multiple teachers and have been replicated in format in many cities across the country. In response to the pandemic, they are now online. In March, 2020, I found myself, like many, operating in a professional and personal terrain that would have been completely incomprehensible just weeks before. My venue based profession of classes and of working with people in their homes was instantly not an option.

Again, like many, I moved my entire career online and found that I could actually reach more students than ever by teaching on Zoom. I rebuilt my career quickly with the help of many people to whom I am eternally grateful.

As International Feldenkrais Week approached in the Spring, I threw caution to the wind and without a clue about the technical aspects of creating such a program, I brought my Feldenkrais Festival idea online. Again, I was thrilled to see that I could now reach people around the world. Moreover, I could feature as presenters many of my favorite teachers from multiple cities across the country! Supported by the Edie Windsor SAGE LGBT Elder Center and the NY Region of the Feldenkrais Guild of North America, the first LGBTQA (“A” stands for allies) was born

Astonishingly, we ended up with over a thousand distinct sign-ins for classes and the reviews of the classes was universally excellent. In sum, after taking a few deep breaths, I knew we had to do it again.

Frederick Schjang, GCFP

The Feldenkrais Method

The aim is a person who is organized to move with minimum effort and maximum efficiency, not through muscular effort, but through increased consciousness of how movement works.

– Moshe Feldenkrais, D. Sci., 1904-1984

The Feldenkrais (rhymes with “ice”) Method is a 60-year-old form of neuromuscular reeducation developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. It has helped thousands around the world find more comfortable, efficient, and sustainable movement. It also fosters greater self-awareness for purposes of pain reduction, performance enhancement (day-to-day/athletic/artistic), self-discovery, and improved quality of life. Lessons feature gentle, soft movement explorations and generally last about an hour. Students are asked to wear loose comfortable clothing so that they can move freely. You will not perspire.

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