Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities Contemporary Sacred Narratives

Amanda Williamson directs the Centre for Somatic Movement and Dance Therapy, where she trains students and has a private practice. She is also director for the Association of Somatic Movement Therapies, UK and the Republic of Ireland, and a visiting professor at Coventry University (C-DaRE). Amanda supervises Ph.D. students in the UK and USA and is considered one of the pioneers within the ISMETA paradigm. Her life is dedicated to emerging and bringing visibility to the field, training students and merging science with creativity. She is chief editor of the peer-reviewed journal Dance, Movement & Spiritualities.

Glenna Batson (PT, Sc.D., MA) is an independent researcher/lecturer in dance, Somatics and science. For the past 35 years, she has honed a trans-disciplinary approach to the study of embodied cognition by bridging dance, science and somatic studies. Glenna is professor emeritus of physical therapy at Winston-Salem State University (USA) and is an internationally recognized teacher of the Alexander Technique. Her current research focuses on the neuro-phenomenology of imagery in movement creation. She recently authored Body and Mind in Motion: Dance and Neuroscience in Conversation and co-edited Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities: Contemporary Sacred Narratives.

Sarah Whatley is founding editor of the Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices. She is Chair of Dance and Director of the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE) at Coventry University, UK. As a dance practitioner, educator, theorist and writer, her research spans a wide range of topics where dance is at the core.