Enjoy 1 hour of Somatic Work with Merceditas Mañago-Alexander

Discover your body’s potential to move. My formative years in Manila have been traditional – Ballet and Modern/Contemporary Dance. But since I moved to New York in 1986, I have danced from neo-classical Ballet with Eliot Feld & Dennis Wayne, to rediscovering my history with Ballet Hispanico of NY, to the powerful and super physicality of Elisa Monte & Doug Varone, to the mixed media and experimental works of Merian Soto & Joyce S. Lim. My time as a performer has also given me opportunities to teach different levels of movers. But it was the eight years I taught at The Alvin Ailey School – teaching children, youths & adults – and at Sarah Lawrence College where I am presently teaching since 2000, that has given me the widest range of movement exploration I can possibly hope for as a teacher. I have also taught around the city – Movement Research, 92^nd St. Y, Sandra Cameron, Mark Morris Dance Center, The Metropolitan Opera,  - which contributed to my learning and discoveries as well.

Learning, curiosity and a beginner’s mind. These qualities interest me and this is what I encourage from my students. I am a strong believer in empowering the person/student and finding their way of moving and learning, so, there could be many different possibilities in doing a movement or phrase. No experience is necessary because it’s more fun to discover it together.