Ann Shoebridge

Ann Shoebridge completed a physiotherapy degree in Melbourne in 1980 and an Alexander Technique teaching certificate with John and Carolyn Nicholls in 1989. From an initial interest in neurology and pain management, her work is now focused on optimal performance and wellbeing for musicians and actors.

Ann’s work as an Alexander Technique teacher has included the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/ Australian Youth Orchestra String Fellowship Program, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra/ Australian Youth Orchestra Brass, Wind and Percussion Fellowship Program, Melbourne Youth Music, VCE music programs, the Victorian Arts Centre, and Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company on their Australian tour in 2008. In 2015 Ann completed a study tour of leading conservatoires and researchers in Europe and the U.K. to investigate current best practice in musicians’ health education. Ann is a sessional teacher at the University of Melbourne VCA and MCM, maintains a private practice teaching Alexander Technique, and is completing a doctorate researching playing-related injuries and performance health in musicians. Ann has presented her work at performing arts and health care conferences in Australia and overseas. Her research paper "Minding the Body: An interdisciplinary theory of optimal posture for musicians" defines optimal posture and offers management strategies to support performance quality and health outcomes. The paper was published in the Psychology of Music journal in 2017, see https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0305735617691593. Copies are available from the author on request.

Ann has served as Chair for the Australian Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (AUSTAT) and the AUSTAT Training Course Committee, and was Australia’s inaugural International Liaison Officer with the internationally affiliated societies of Alexander Technique. She is now an AUSTAT training course moderator. Ann is a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), the Australian Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (AUSTAT), the Australian Society for Performing Arts Healthcare (ASPAH), and the International Society for Music Education (ISME).