30 Lessons, one-semester course in Stage Movement
conducted by Video-Instructor

Educate your body and prepare your mind for Acting, and stylized movement subjects with my online course “Essential Stage Movement.” This program is the first attempt to teach a one-semester Stage Movement course to students via the Internet. It will prepare your body and mind for better acting, as your muscles become more obedient and express the nuances of your artistic imagination.

You are all familiar with online programs that many universities offer nowadays in a variety of subjects. It is one thing to learn a theoretical course by reading from a screen instead of from the book, and another thing to acquire psychophysical abilities from an image. My practical course delivers just this. It has been successfully tested on several groups of students varying in experience and age.

As you probably know, there are plenty of books on the market that offer exercises in all kind of movement disciplines, but I do not believe anyone can improve his/her psychophysical qualities by reading a book. You must exercise the body in order to achieve this. The best that can come from reading a textbook on Stage Movement is the thought “I should try this one day.”

This is why I have decided to produce first the Video Instructor course, and then the textbook for those who would like more in-depth knowledge about the method I am employing, and to understand why things are done the way I do them.

This Video course consists of thirty (30) lessons, each lasting one hour and fifteen minutes, approximating one semester of lessons in a college program, plus a Prologue, an Introduction to the course and a concluding Test Lesson. The program is built in such a way, that every lesson is a continuation of the previous one. Included are about 100 exercises, some of which are repeated in every lesson, as warm-up exercises and exercises to develop Balance and the Expressive Hand. This is done intentionally, as a drill, to overcome the natural resistance of our bodies and minds to develop new skills.

With the same goal in mind, I recommend taking these classes two or three times a week, thus stretching the program for a period of 3 to 4 months. It takes that long to develop the Faculties, Habits, and Skills that are the focus of my Video Instructor Program. If one tries to do it infrequently, I cannot guarantee good results, as continuity is very important when dealing with muscles and ligaments. 

This online program has almost all the attributes that a real class would have. There is an Instructor, who gives you the description of the exercise and a command to begin it. There is music to accompany the exercises. Varying types of graphic illustrations and animations help you to understand the particulars of the tasks. There is even feedback from the experienced Instructor on what kind of mistakes and errors a student might make when performing a particular exercise.

It is up to you, the student, to follow the instructions and directions, to be honest with yourself, and to put maximum effort into the exercises.

Every class in the program is designed, so that the time spent on exercises takes about ¾ of the lesson. The rest is Instructor’s explanations. A variety of exercises and tasks is offered in each lesson to stimulate the student and not to render the lesson monotonous.

The Method used in this program has a distinguished pedigree, beginning in the 19th century with Dalcrose and Delsart, then influenced by Russian teacher/director Konstantin Stanislavsky, further developed by Russian teachers of Stage Movement, and finally adapted by me for English speaking educational institutions.

This Method concentrates on developing the Faculties, Habits, and Skills, that are required by an actor for successful work on Stage, in TV, and Film.

Some of these are:

• Balance
• Coordination
• Concentration
• Flexibility
• Sense of Rhythm
• Sense of Space
• Courage
• Decisiveness, etc.

But most importantly is that this approach is SPECIALLY designed for the actor, and develops the abilities in a systematic, calculated way. It is commonly believed that any physical activity is useful for the actor. But it is not the case! Acting is a unique profession, and every subject must be uniquely designed to help a talented individual acquire the necessary Faculties, Habits, and Skills in the shortest period of time, and in a mode that is complimentary to the main discipline, Acting.

One of the advantages of working with my online course is that you can exercise at the time, and place, most convenient for you. You can also repeat a lesson, or a part of it, as many times as you wish for better results. Remember though, to really get the maximum benefit, you must follow the order of subjects and carefully listen to the instructions of your Personal Video Instructor.

Join the club and educate your mind and body with the Essential Stage Movement course.