Meet the Faculty for the 2020 Lessac U.s. Intensive Workshop!
The Lessac Training and Research Institute is pleased to announce the faculty for this year’s Lessac Summer Intensive Workshop: Master Teacher Crystal Robbins from Santa Monica, CA and Master Teacher Marth Munro from South Africa. These gifted instructors will bring decades of experience and training to this workshop, which will be held in a retreat-like setting at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, from June 21-July 17, 2020.
Crystal Robbins and Arthur Lessac in 2000
Crystal Robbins worked and trained closely with Arthur Lessac for the last 13 years of his life, which taught her that “entry into the work can start from anywhere,” and “there’s always more than one way to do things!” She has taught Lessac Kinesensics for over two decades at university and K-12 institutions, as well as in numerous workshops and intensives. She has been a private acting coach for 25 years, with an extensive background as a professional performer. Crystal finds applications of Kinesensic work “every day and in every way,” and currently is investigating medical applications involving the kind of balance we find in Lessac’s “wheel walking.” Crystal has been active in the LTRI, twice serving on the Board of Directors, and on various committees that support the work of the Institute.
Marth Munro (left) leads students through a physical exploration of Buoyancy in Croatia.
Marth Munro, PhD, is a Professor extraordinaire at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and also is associated with the Wits Business School. Her research and training has focused on understanding how the “body, brain, emotion, and voice interact creatively,” and her work as a teacher is guided by a belief in embodied and experiential learning that honors and accesses the uniqueness of each student as a human being. In addition to being a Master Teacher of Lessac Kinesensics, Marth is also a certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, a Certified Sound Therapist, a qualified Hatha Yoga teacher, and has expertise in Bio-and-Neurofeedback. Above all, Marth finds that Lessac work allows her to “play with a childlike curiosity.”
About the Intensive Workshop
You will find opportunities all over the US and the world for learning Lessac Kinesensics, but perhaps the backbone of the Lessac Institute’s offerings is the Intensive Workshop. Although conditions may vary, most of these intensives are conducted in retreat-like settings over three to four weeks so that participants can immerse themselves fully in the process of learning.
The U.S. Lessac Intensive is a four-week workshop. During the first two weeks, students learn about the origins and foundations of Lessac Kinesensics through experiential voice and body work. The last two weeks are devoted to actively applying the work to specific texts, tasks, and contexts. Each day of the intensive starts with body work, followed by large-and-small group voice classes. Participants are given several hours of free time to lunch, rest, meet with their assigned buddies for assignments, and private coaching. The day ends with a second small group class.
Crystal Robbins (front, second left) with the 2019 U.S. Summer Intensive Participants.
The Intensive is so named for a reason; the days are full and much material is covered. But the evenings are free and the Greencastle community offers many restaurants, parks, and pretty places to bond with your peers and absorb the material in conversations about the events of the day. The Intensive experience tends to produce lasting effects and friendships. As Crystal notes, “There is nothing quite like the intensive immersion experience. It will surpass your expectations, as you take a deep dive into the relationship between your body and voice. Be prepared for a transformative and joyful ride that builds on your strengths and offers you strengths you didn’t know you had.”
For more information about the Summer Intensive at DePauw University email us at: info@lessacinstitute.org or click blow.