Michelle Obrecht

Michelle Obrecht teaches Alexander Technique in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan. She received a Bachelor of Arts at UCLA and a Master’s Degree in history from UC Berkeley. While pursuing a PhD degree in history at UC Berkeley, she was involved in a serious car accident, the aftermath of which led her to pursue training in the Alexander Technique. She completed the 1600-hour training to become a certified teacher in 1991 and did post-graduate training with Frank Ottiwell at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Upon moving to Ann Arbor in 1999, she taught for five years in the U-M Residential College’s music department followed by 20 years of private-lesson teaching in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In 2016 the department initiated small-group, one-credit classes in the Alexander Technique as part of the Wellness Initiative, aimed at providing students tools to combat physical tension and emotional stress. Michelle is trained in a number of alternative practices. She has taken courses in Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Acupressure, Jin Shin Jyutsu, The Art of Breathing (based on the breathing techniques of Carl Stough), and Bowen Fascia work. She has been a practitioner of Vipassana (Insight) Meditation since 1984. She has attended numerous meditation retreats, as well as dozens of Alexander seminars throughout the United States. In addition to her teaching at U-M, Michelle has given workshops at Eastern Michigan University and the Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan. In 2018, Michelle was awarded a LEO Professional Development Grant to attend the International Alexander Technique Congress, “Advancing Global Perspective: Making New Connections with Science, Performance and Education,” to further her ongoing study of the intersection between mind, body and the art of performance.