Being three years of my life next to Paul and Tessa in their training course was the best personal experience that I had in my own education and personal development. They created a space where the students and teachers could constantly grow and develop naturally at their own pace.
What I learned from them had an immense influence in my approach to my work as a musician feeling healthier in mind-body and more secure to express myself.
We were always supported by them, and challenged in our psychophysical experience. I recognise the truth of their teaching in my daily life since I can always think about it, apply it to whatever I am doing, share it with students or colleagues and find an expanding quality of my being.
When I think about the years that I spend with them on the training course, these words come to my mind: Generosity, Balance, Poise, Stillness, Movement, Joy, Constant, Friendship, Human, Wisdom, Art.
Thank you Paul and Tessa!
Eduard Marcet, violinist & Suzuki teacher (Barcelona, Spain) eduardmarcet.com
In september 1999 I started having private lessons with Paul Versteeg. Pretty soon I became deeply interested in the Alexander Technique and felt its enormous potential. After my 10th lesson or so, Paul pointed out to me the possibility to train as a teacher at Paul and Tessa's ATCA's training school and I immediately felt in my whole body that I had to do it. I joined the training course in January 2000: and it truly have been the best three years of my life.
I learned so much, and enjoyed every second of exploring and self development and growth with all ups and downs that were part of it. The amazing qualities of Paul and Tessa as heads of training, the great group of students some of whom I still see regularly to this day. I can’t imagine my life without the Alexander Technique. As a matter of fact, I owe it almost everything: from recovering from my injuries, to becoming more tuned into my innate musical feelings as a violinist, to dealing with stage fright and consequently winning auditions, to experiencing more flow on stage, to my husband :-), to a wonderful private practice with Alexander Technique students of my own. Come join ATCA if you can! You won’t regret it.
Maaike Aarts, Freelance violinist and former member of Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (Amsterdam, Netherlands) thinkup.nl
I studied at ATCA between 2012 - 2015 and learned so much in these 3 years! As (baroque) violinist I received private Alexander lessons for 10 years, but in the teacher training everything goes much deeper. It was an intensive time that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss for the world. Especially the warm personal approach by Paul and Tessa and the contact with all international students made it a rich experience.
After graduating I immediately started my own private practice ‘Free-up’ in Haarlem, specialized in musicians. From the start this has been a flourishing practice with 15 - 20 students weekly. I love teaching and use every day what I learned at ATCA. Students often stay with me for years. Last year I got a little son. During my pregnancy and during the child birth I heard the soft teachings from Paul and Tessa in my head, which was an enormous support in having a problem free pregnancy and birth. The power of the Technique and the quality of Paul and Tessa became so clear to me once more. I would recommend the teacher training at ATCA to everyone. It is an investment in the rest of your life and a unique opportunity to practice a wonderful profession later on.
Esther Visser, Baroque violinist, guest teacher at Conservatory of Rotterdam and The Hague (Haarlem, Netherlands) free-up.nl
Something changed dramatically when I met Paul and Tessa and took AT lessons.
It was a life change. Not in the sense of ‘and they lived happily ever after’, like in fairy tales ‘all’s well that ends well’, but I gradually began to understand that I was getting a lifelong tool to explore how to use myself constructively in my daily life. To notice moment by moment when I am using too much pressure whether it is physical, mental or emotional. The journey did not stop after the training, but continued. AT gives me a choice. When there is a downward pull physically, mentally or emotionally to stop and wait and examine, how I can support myself in that situation and how I can direct myself in such a way that it has, or can have a positive outcome for me, my beloved ones, the students, the people I meet. I can only wish that others may also benefit from this work.
Hildegarde De Baets, AT & Mindfulness teacher (Amsterdam, Netherlands) fmalexandertechniek.nl
ATCA felt like a second home to me. Paul and Tessa create an inspiring, positive and safe environment to learn the Alexander Technique. I really enjoyed interacting with a diverse group of students, teachers and guest speakers.
The technique is taught in a way that you can apply it in many different areas of your life. Through the technique I discovered how I want to learn. Paul and Tessa highly influenced how I approach movement and opened up my view on dance. Curiosity was encouraged and I felt free to experiment and research the technique.
Although the training was challenging, confronting and intense at times I always felt respected, held and supported. Paul and Tessa gave me a solid base to further develop my skills and deepen the understanding of the technique in my private practice. I highly recommend the training. Place your trust in their hands. Onwards and upwards!
Neel Greven, AT teacher and dancer (Zaandam, Nederland)
If you are ready to bring yourself and your life to a whole new level of consciousness, go and study with Master teachers Paul and Tessa!
They are the best and complement each other with the highest professional qualities, life-long dedication to the work, a thorough/grounded approach, and deeply generous, warm and loving qualities. This training is a life changer for good.
Anna Schweizer, cellist (Vienna, Austria) alexandering.at
My experience in ATCA with learning to teach the Alexander Technique with Paul and Tessa was very joyful.
Firstly, the process of deepening the AT itself and how to teach. Secondly, their personal approach with the development of subtle indirect procedures and the so called ‘games’, by which the understanding of the AT is based on experience and sharing in such a warm space.I can only be appreciative to them and all my colleagues.
I recommend anyone interested in learning ‘how to teach’ to visit them and experience their charisma.
Enrique Ribes, Surfer & AT teacher (Valencia, Spain) elartedelaaccion.es
Participating in the ATCA training course was the best decision I ever made in my life.
Tessa and Paul are friendly, wise, patient, and experienced teachers.
The AT changed my attitude in my work (professional choral singer) and in my private life.
It made me more calm and collected in stressful situations. I learned how to be more true to myself , and to meet others in a free and positive way. I discovered the value and warmth of learning in a group.
Marga Melerna, professional singer and teacher (Hilversum, Netherlands) margamelerna.nl
I graduated with Tessa and Paul in ATCA in 2004. Before joining the training, I was full of doubts. I knew the AT was for me, but I was not sure I wanted to teach it to others professionally. Once I had made my commitment and stepped in, all sorts of unexpected possibilities opened, even financial ones. Actually, I never looked back.
When I graduated, I took 2 things with me.
The first 'security', a feeling deep in my bones ‘I know what I am doing’.
The second one was a bit more pragmatic but very important for setting up a professional practice ‘How much should I charge’. Having decided I have never worked for less.
The training gave a framework for expansive understanding built up of small steps. This has supported me along my professional career. Very soon when I had moved to a different country & I was on my own. I never doubted about the value that I was giving to others. I had security.
Of course, I trained myself in all sorts of extra things - neuroscience, anatomy, communication marketing, all sorts of skills that come along the way but having a base, that 'security', is very important. In all these years I have taught the AT in my private practice, to individuals, at universities, in high performance trainings, in companies - all very different contexts, very different people but if I had doubts about my course or how to approach something, I have that secure base of the Alexander Process.
So if you are considering to train I will encourage you from the bottom of my heart to visit Tessa & Paul to have an experience of the training and to make up your body & then to make up your mind. I am sure you will know. I wish you all the best with love,
Maria de Marcos, AT Teacher & Coach (Madrid, Spain) mariademarcos.com
Participating in the teacher training of the ATCA was definitely the best gift I could have ever given to myself. Studying with Tessa & Paul was a great pleasure since their knowledge of the Alexander Technique is incredible and the way they know how to bring it across to each individual is impressive. I personally really enjoyed the environment the two of them create with patience, knowledge and a good amount of humor. I certainly wasn’t looking for such a life changing experience but that is what the training turned out to be for me, in a positive way.
Right now I'm only at the beginning of my career as an Alexander teacher. I combine that work with my work as a choir conductor and vocal coach and I can already experience the benefit of the technique in my daily practice, not only as a teacher of the AT but also with my singing students. For me personally this is the ultimate combination and a very rewarding and fascinating line of work.
Annika Weissman, AT teacher, singer, conductor & vocal coach (Amsterdam, Netherlands) annikaweissman.com
One of the best decisions taken in my life was spending a year in a convent; the second one, training at ATCA with Paul and Tessa. Both experiences changed my life a great amount for better.
The training made me grow bigger, not only physically but also mentally. Having being part of Tessa's and Paul's school, who have and extremely accurate way of transmitting the technique and enriching it with their extraordinary capacity for applying it into movement in a very creative way, makes me feel nothing but gratitude. To immerse yourself into a 3 years journey with the best guides is one of the best gifts you can offer yourself
Several of my students, who were inspired by the work I learned at ATCA, have also trained as Alexander Technique teachers in the same school as I did. In my eyes this confirms the high quality of the training.
Belen Cobos, AT Teacher (Granada, Spain) tecnicaalexander.es
Studying with Tessa and Paul has been the best idea I ever had. It exceeded all my expectations, not only because of the principles of the AT but for the human quality of Paul and Tessa as well.
I am deeply grateful to Paul & Tessa. The training course brought calm and ease to my whole self. It taught me just what I needed to learn: how to work on myself. There is time and choice, here and now, at every moment.
The most constructive experience. Even years later the process keeps growing and embracing more aspects of my life. Looking forward to seeing them again, next time with my own students who want to know what’s all about!
Germana Gómez, AT Teacher at Málaga Conservatory of Music (Málaga, Spain) germanagomez.com
In 2010 I graduated at ATCA, I did the course in 3 and a half years and it was an intensive course which I wouldn’t have missed for the world.
I’ve got the tools to work on myself, also when I’ve got a small injury, I’m able to solve it. Now I teach other students and musicians.
Elsie Reiziger, AT & saxophone teacher (Hilversum, Netherlands)
Paul and Tessa are highly skilled teachers and developed an articulate teaching program. They combine this with the deep quiet of giving you time to deepen your own understanding of the Alexander Technique. This transformed me and my life.
It helped me to establish a deep and personal relation with the Alexander Technique and enabled me since to make a living of it from the day I graduated twenty years ago. I am still very passionate about the technique, and am grateful for the clear framework it gives that helped me to open up to so many experiences and possibilities.
Stefan van Dijk, AT teacher (Amsterdam, Netherlands) atpraktijkbrouwersgracht.nl and vrijwemmen.com
I consider myself a lucky person to have had the opportunity to train at Paul and Tessa's school ATCA and to become an Alexander Teacher. They have always shared their knowledge generously, in a welcoming atmosphere and warm surroundings, with a refined rigor in their way of doing and working together.My bond with the school has remained strong over the years and I still come back from time to time to improve my skills as a Teacher and have been able to keep on growing continuously personally and professionally.
With more than 20 years of experience as a professional AT teacher, I am convinced that I belong to one of the best schools in the world. And if I went back in time and I had to start training, I would definitely choose that school again. I am deeply grateful to Paul and Tessa for sharing their wisdom and affection, and their love for the Technique.
When I took the AT lesson for first time, I just intuitively felt that there was something I did not know, although I didn’t understand what it meant. My senses were reacting just simply. With each lesson, a spirit of inquiry grew, and I entered the training course in 2002.
At first, I could not use English well. It was a hard time for me to understand the content, but Tessa and Paul’s hands-on work surely conveyed various thing without words. How I exist, how I react, what is the meaning of balance, etc. My tense body began to change little by little, at the same time my mind began to be affected too. However, that means facing the need to rethink myself. It took a lot of time. In the meantime, Tessa, Paul and other teachers never rushed me, watched over me that I was convince and changed myself. They always paid attention to us(trainees) and guided us according to the speed of learning. This teaching style is rooted in me now! What I learned and felt in the training course is a fortune and a treasure for me.
Since graduation in 2005, I have been teaching as an AT teacher. In recent years, as a physical education teacher, in junior high school, high school and university, I have been teaching physical education based on the AT in parallel.
For those who are thinking of participation in the training course… The three years are aimed at becoming a teacher, but it should be valuable time to recapture yourself. I am sure you will have a wonderful experience!!!
Michiyo Yagi, AT teacher, Physical Education teacher (Osaka, Japan) atlesson-yagi.com
20 years after my graduation, no doubt to think on how important has been my training with you both. I was looking for my stability for myself and my sound; thanks to a tendinite I stopped and I observed that I was not free while playing. My mind was not releasing.
Full immersion during 3 years, the bike, the north, the wind…
All surrounded by your dedication, your truth, your will, your tempo…
Since 2002 I´m so happy to spread the AT tools for musicians in Spain. So special to help players, singers and directors. So special to learn, to share sound/thoughts on our well being... with creative people.
At Musikene, the High Music School of Basque Country, the AT is offered to students as an optative matiere in 2 years: AT I , AT II; the AT is included in the Jazz Master as well, offering tools for the improvisation.
As musician, my sound and my bellow control as accordion player has completely changed giving me a new approach to the bellow direction and balance.
Ana Landa, AT Teacher & Musician (San Sebastian, Spain) musikene.eus
After my first lesson about 14 years ago in Argentina I read about FM Alexander and I got amazed by his technique and I wanted to learn more. Once here in The Netherlands, I followed the training with Paul and Tessa. The learning process was an amazing journey , I’ve learnt about myself, my habitual use, how to stop and change habits of movement and to make new choices; as well how to teach this wonderful technique to others.
I'm a physical therapist and since I've followed this training my understanding of the body-mind connection got a different dimension, it turned more real and not just a word. Now I have the possibility to understand my patients in a different way. I think that every physical therapist should take Alexander Technique lessons.
Debora Craig, AT Teacher & Physical Therapist (The Hague, Netherlands) reeducateyourbody.com
After only one Alexander technique lesson with Paul I knew: I need this technique for the rest of my life! I literally walked on clouds after that table turn, I will never forget that feeling.