Feldenkrais Research Journal​ • ​volume 6​ (2018-2019) 
 
 
 

Introduction and Acknowledgements 
 
 
It is my pleasure to say a few words of welcome to this volume of the ​Feldenkrais Research 
Journal​ – and give thanks to all who contributed. While this volume took quite some time to 
produce, it represents a significant achievement – bringing forth this important field of practice, 
thought, and research of the life of the Feldenkrais Method​®​ in the world. Taken along with the 
special volume of ‘Journal of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Training’ (Volume 6, Number 2), 
from July 2015, it establishes the Feldenkrais Method as a significant contributor to teaching 
and practice in the contemporary performing arts. In this Introduction I wish to thank the many 
people who made this volume of the ​Feldenkrais Research Journal​ possible. 

This volume would not have been produced without the tireless work of our Guest Editor, 
Thomas Kampe, Feldenkrais teacher, dancer, and Senior Lecturer for Movement/Acting at the 
Bath Spa University. When I was busy with completing my own dissertation, Thomas kept the 
Journal moving forward, and brought all his organizational, communication, reflective and 
writing skills to bear on what is a substantial piece of work: this volume of the ​FRJ​. In addition, 
he has contributed an ‘Editorial’ that is a significant piece of scholarship itself, describing the 
emerging field of arts research, locating the history of Moshe Feldenkrais’ encounter with early 
somatic arts practices, as well as introducing the articles you will find here. He also provided for 
this volume a lively review of Victoria Worsley’s milestone book, ‘Feldenkrais for Actors’. I thank 
him personally for all his skill and support, and he deserves the thanks of our readers and the 
Feldenkrais community. 

Thomas also recruited three extra special Guest Editors for this volume: 

● Dr Sara Reed, Principal Lecturer in Dance, School of Media and Performing Arts, 
Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Coventry University 

● Prof. Robert Sholl, Royal Academy of Music and University of West London 
● Dr Libby Worth, Senior Lecturer in Theatre Practice, Director MA Programmes, 

Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance, Royal Holloway, University of London. 

They were key members of our team of reviewers and advisors for this volume. Our special 
thanks for your special role as Guest Editors Sara, Robert, and Libby. 

In addition, we drew on several members of our Editorial Team for the various rounds of 
reviewing of initial and edited submissions who have also earned our thanks: 

● Zoran Kovich, dancer, dance educator, and Trainer in the Feldenkrais Method 

 
Published by the International ​Feldenkrais​®​ Federation (IFF) ​https://feldenkrais-method.org 
Available online at ​https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org 
 

 
 

https://feldenkrais-method.org/
https://feldenkraisresearchjournal.org/


 

● Cornelia Berens, consultant and organizer of cultural activities, writer on art, theatre, and 
cultural studies, and editor of the German ‘Feldenkraisforum’, 

● Dianne Hancock, Feldenkrais Practitioner and theatre teacher. 

Proofreading was done by dancer and Feldenkrais Teacher Brandee Selk, and JoAnne Page. 
JoAnne, with a background in dance, a PhD in linguistics, and history of work in academia has 
come on board also as our Harvard formatting expert, and has done much already to improve 
the precision and consistency of our formatting and references. 

This year the ​FRJ​ moved to a new site and we are making use of a new Open Journal Systems 
(OJS) format. This new platform will make it easier to edit and present the journal. The 
International Feldenkrais Federation’s web designer, Jessica Taylor in Portland, Oregon, did 
this extra work and created this handsome format, as well as preparing this volume for 
publication. 

Many thanks are also due to the Board of the International Feldenkrais Federation, and the 
IFF’s member organizations – the Feldenkrais Guilds and Associations around the world, who 
continue to provide the organizational and financial underpinnings of this valuable part of our 
field. 

Finally, the authors. As I have said before, our authors are also volunteers – who do a lot of 
work not just to draft their papers and then find the courage to submit them, but also find the 
openness to receive feedback, and undertake the sometimes-difficult task of revising and 
editing their own words. Thanks to you. Also thanks to those whose papers were not accepted 
for this volume – there are several which I am hoping we will be able to publish in the future. 

The cliché is that it ‘takes a village’ to do a whole range of things. I have discovered that despite 
being clichéd, this actually does apply to a research journal as well. In a professional community 
the publishing of a next volume of a journal represents not just a collection of papers, but a step 
in the development of that professional community and its field of impact as well.  

 
Warmest regards, 
Cliff Smyth, PhD, Feldenkrais Teacher 
General Editor 

 
Introduction and Acknowledgements • ​Feldenkrais Research Journal, volume 6​ (2018-2019) 2