ALCHEMY TEACHER TRAINING
Anne O’Keeffe now offers Alchemy Teacher Training!
This course is a DEEP DIVE into the heart of the Alchemy work. For 23 years, Anne has built a substantial community focusing on presence, mindful movement, authenticity and creativity. Though Anne continues to teach, she is now seeking to support and inspire others to develop their own teaching practices and/or creative projects. The Teacher Training program provides insights into Alchemy methodologies and practices to use in YOUR OWN teaching journey. It is also a pre-requisite to participate in the next stage of the teacher training program: Alchemy Teacher Accreditation if interested.
Anne has been teaching professionally for 41 years, at Victorian College of Arts (Dance, Acting and Music Theatre Depts), Federation Uni, National Theatre Drama School, Malthouse Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, 16th St Actors Studio and Brave Studios. Whilst doing this, she has worked professionally as a freelance choreographer, director, dancer, actor, deviser and writer. She has taught thousands of students across Dance, Theatre, Music Theatre and TV - including working for 11 years as Drama/Movement coach for Fremantle Media (Neighbours) and for Princess Pictures (How to Stay Married).
Anne is privileged to have supported so many to connect to their creativity, and to embrace and share their unique gifts with the world. Most importantly, she has invited all students, no matter what their background, to connect more deeply to themselves, each other and their environment through the sensing, feeling, body.
In Anne's work, we practice a way of Being, inspired by the TENDERNESS and COURAGE of an OPEN HEART.
ALCHEMY TEACHER TRAINING 2024
For participants with experience of Anne's work, these two weekends will provide deep insights into the provenance, pedagogy and practices designed by Alchemy Founder and teacher, Anne O'Keeffe. Weekend One will focus on Alchemy Provenance, Philosophy, Principles and Practices. Weekend Two will focus on Sowing the Seeds: what needs watering to help our vision grow and thrive. This is followed by Taking the Floor: where students trial and receive feedback on their own teaching approach, inspired by Alchemy methodologies (optional). Part Three of the training is the Mentoring Program (optional one-on-one support). For those who are intered, this training program is the first step towards Alchemy Teacher Accreditation, where YOU can teach Anne's work, carrying the flame of Alchemy into the future.
WEEKEND ONE: Saturday October 5 and Sunday October 6, 2024 (2 days)
WEEKEND TWO: Saturday October 12 and Sunday October 13, 2024 (2 days)
(PLEASE NOTE: This program requires commitment to BOTH weekends)
OPTIONAL MENTORING: 5 or 10 hours of 1:1 mentoring with Anne to support your creative/teaching practice
TIMES: All days: 10.30am-5.30pm
PLACE: ROSE ROOM, GREEN MONDAY STUDIOS, 73 Grattan Street, CARLTON
INVESTMENT: $760. Optional mentoring: $680 (10 hours) or $400 (5 hours).
TO ENROL: $200 non-refundable deposit due: Friday, August 30. Balance ($560): Friday, Sept 20. Optional mentoring due: Friday, October 25.
10 PLACES ONLY
Link to 5-minute video of ANNE TEACHING:
Filmed by MISCHA BAKA AND CANDICE POLGLASE
Edited by CANDICE POLGLASE
TESTIMONIALS
'Teacher training with Anne is like soul food; full of love and support but with plenty of space for curiosity and dreaming into your unique way. Anne creates a warm and accepting space to explore, play and practice. This is not about becoming a teacher of Alchemy Dance, but about deepening into and nurturing your own dance, and how it wants to be expressed in the world.' Sarah Ford, Psychologist and Embodiment Faciliator
'Anne O’Keefe - Founder & Facilitator of Alchemy Dance, Australia - is an incredible woman. I consider her a dear friend, beloved mentor, sensational teacher - full of wisdom and warmth. Anne embodies ‘Community’; a sacred space holder and nurturing leader.
With Anne’s guidance, gorgeous facilitation and poetic enquiries, many realisations have blossomed for many, and many creative seeds planted. My confidence as a performer, as a creative and as a teacher were really consolidated in this space. When the opportunity presented itself to dive into the Alchemy teachings further and learn from someone who’s creation and space-holding has been so transformative, I absolutely could not pass this up!
I highly recommend Anne’s Alchemy Teacher Training & bonus mentoring - for anyone who is a creative, a facilitator/teacher/educator/space-holder, an experience-designer of some description; who has a project offering bubbling in the works that is yearning to be shared with the world.
Anne shares generously her teaching principles, processes and practical application. The training and her mentoring encouraged me to really step into my own unique gifts, believe in myself and what I have to share and offer, and package it in a way that was accessible. It supported me to get clear on my intention. Her mentoring especially was a space to bring challenges as they rose in the journey of creating, to physically be with them and move through them.
Anne is so welcoming and approachable. She offers deep presence and attentive listening, really hears you and gives so much of herself in her responses and backing of you and your project. She offers encouragement but also practical guidance. She supports you to find the answers and step within, holding space for your exploration through the modalities she knows so well, then reflecting back with conviction.
I will continue working with Anne for a long time to come. Time spent with her, in class, in training and in mentoring, is an investment to my Soul’s growth and evolution, and my path of who I want to be in this life.'
Cathy Williams, Movement & Expressive Arts Therapist and Multi-modal Artist: intuitiveself.com.au
‘In the Alchemy Teacher Training, I learned more about the philosophy and techniques behind Alchemy, including support around choice of music and duties of care. I also appreciated the opportunity to practice our own mini-sessions, and to receive critical feedback from Anne and our colleagues.
It helped me gain confidence in my own capacities, while also exposing me to my own definite areas with need for improvement: such as balancing verbal facilitation, with how much I should be dancing/improvising while I am also facilitating (does this support or hinder my presence / duties of care and responsibilities for the facilitation process?). Mentoring after the training has also been so important for me to develop my own burgeoning praxis with friends.
Mentoring has also been important for bouncing ideas back and forth with Anne, and to receive both affirmation AND critical feedback, based on her experience as an arts practitioner and teacher. I have particularly appreciated the space to share in the spiritual + imaginal aspects of my arts project ideas - this has helped me clarify my own thinking and intentions around all of this.
Pragmatic suggestions for activities have been so helpful in bringing together my own intentions and helping me gain confidence in what is truly possible, given my existing skill sets & preoccupations.’
En KW
'Alchemy Teacher Training boosted my confidence creatively, inter-personally and strategically to deliver empowering workshops for young people. The powerful methods Anne O'Keeffe shared with us including sensitive choices for music, how to contain a non-judgmental space, and creating spacious, self-reflexive environments – all this gave me great inspiration as a teacher. My intention for projects developed after Anne's training, became focused on how I may serve and inspire with the power of my highest self, employing the nuances of my interests and creative gifts. The training also enabled me to 'get out of the way of my own fears and doubts' and trust a greater force within to tap into what young people's needs may be to express themselves.
In teaching and facilitating since the training, I have discovered the incredible power in building confidence for young dancers by using visualisation and quiet solo spaces for individuals at the beginning of each class, as well as book ending classes with group reflection. Anne's mentoring also enabled me to refine planning for delivery, by creating fun exploratory exercises that tapped into intuition; with personal stories and impactful mantras acting as a force for alchemising unhelpful thinking patterns, into powerful ones. These exercises often resulted in students discovering surprising new realms for self-expression.
The young people involved in my project connected to the Alchemy practice within a short period of time, where they were able to experience new realms of movement and states of presence. After the students’ final performance at The Desert Song Festival 2020, many members of the audience commented on how astounded they were by the children's powerful presence whilst performing, despite their age and vulnerability engaging with unfamiliar work. Watching them grow and express themselves more fully over four weeks was astounding for me, especially with the confidence they built in improvising with little experience prior to us meeting.
I would love to build now on bringing a broader variety of exercises into my teaching to serve a wide range of individual needs, and to refine my ability to build even more confidence, deeper listening and more spontaneity within solo and group movement, to bring surprise and awe to both teacher and student.
Thank you, Anne for your solidarity, inspiration and courage.'
Rebekah Stuart, Dancer, Choreographer and Visual Artist: @rebekahlouart
