Dr. Amanda Williamson completed her PhD in the professional field of Somatic Movement Dance Education and Therapy. Her research is inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary in approach, spanning cultural studies, health studies, somatic movement dance therapy, and philosophy. She is particularly interested in humanistic medicine and has a passion for the relationship between art, health, somatics, dance and spirituality (focus on life journey and moving in to health). She works with a wide range of people experiencing back pain, joint pain, grief, migraines, addiction, stress, anxiety and depression, as well as people with no specific conditions, but feeling isolated, low, lost and disconnected. More recently, she has been specialising in supporting people during menopause and grief, She is an internationally registered ‘Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist’ and considered one of the historical figures leading this profession globally; she is documented in dance history books and academic articles as one of the pioneers, along with many of her colleagues http://sites.freelogoservices.com/editor/main.php#/. 

 Amanda is a Visiting Honorary Professor at ‘The Centre for Dance Research (C-dare)’, Coventry University and is part of the The Being Human Research Centre at UOG; and she currently directs ‘The Centre for Bio-Somatic Dance Movement Therapy’ (movingsoma) in Cheltenham. Here she directs a two-year professional graduate training programme in ‘Bio-Somatic Dance Movement Naturotherapy’ & ‘Holistic Somatic Movement Dance Therapy’, in association with ‘The International Somatic Movement Education & Therapy Association’ (ISMETA New York). She is editor of the anthology, “Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities: Contemporary Sacred Narratives” and the international research journal, “Dance, Movement and Spiritualities” (with Intellect Publishers UK/USA). Her recent book is: “Spiritual Herstories: Call of the Soul in Dance Research”.  Amanda has been a senior university lecturer in dance, somatics and movement studies for 22 years and course leader for BA (Hons) Dance and MA Dance & Somatic Well-being programmes in the UK and in New York (UCLan).  She founded MA Dance & Somatic Well-being: Connections to the Living body, in the UK and New York, in partnership with ISMETA (the first MA programme in Somatics and Dance world-wide).  Amanda enjoys co-authoring research with colleagues world-wide and is committed to multiple voice research.  She is currently writing a book on 'Grounded Case Studies: Grass Roots Bio-Somatic Dance Movement Therapy' with her clients at the centre. Her 2020 research project is working ethnographically with indigenous community and other health care practitioners working in modalities.  
Picture
Amanda's most recent book chapter is 'Williamson, A. (2018), Falling in Love with Language, in S. Fraleigh (ed.), ‘Back to the Dance Itself: Phenomenologies of the body in performance’, Illinois: University of Illinois Press'.​ This book is edited by Sondra Fraleigh and illuminates how scholars apply a range of phenomenologies to explore questions of dance and the world; performing life and language; body and place; and self-knowing in performance. Some authors delve into theoretical perspectives, while others relate personal experiences and reflections that reveal fascinating insights arising from practice. Collectively, authors give particular consideration to the interactive lifeworld of making and doing that motivates performance. Their texts and photographs study body and the environing world through points of convergence, as correlates in elemental and constant interchange modeled vividly in dance. Selected essays on eco-phenomenology and feminism extend this view to the importance of connections with, and caring for, all life. Contributors: Karen Barbour, Christine Bellerose, Robert Bingham, Kara Bond, Hillel Braude, Sondra Fraleigh, Kimerer LaMothe, Joanna McNamara, Vida Midgelow, Ami Shulman, and Amanda Williamson.
  • Williamson, A. (2009), 'Formative support and connection: somatic movement dance education in community and client practice', Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices 1: 1, pp. 29-45.
  • Williamson, A. (2010), 'Reflections and theoretical approaches to the study of spiritualities within the field of somatic movement dance education', Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices 2: 1, pp. 35-61.
  • Williamson, A. & Hayes, J. (2012), 'Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', Special issue, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, Intellect, 4.1.
  • Williamson, A. & Hayes, J. (2014), 'Dancing the sacred in secular contexts', Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', Intellect, 1.1, pp 10-31.
  • Williamson, A & Njaradi, D (2014), 'Secular and personally Politicalized Spiritualities, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', Intellect, pp. 231-239: 1.2.
  • Williamson, A. (2014), In memory of Jill Hayes, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', pp. 215-230: 1.2.
  • Williamson, A (eds.), (2014), Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities: Contemporary Sacred Narratives, Intellect: Bristol.
  • Williamson, A. & Eddy, M. (2014), Reflections on the spiritual dimensions of somatic movement education, in Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities: contemporary sacred narratives.
  • Williamson, A. (2015), ‘Glancing back –looking forward’, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', Intellect, pp. 361-371: 1.3.
  • Williamson, A. and Walter, C. (2015), Carla Walter interviewed by Amanda Williamson: Professorial and academic reflections 2, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', Intellect, 1.3.pp. 657-689. 
  • Williamson, A. (2016), ‘A few Weaves on Suffering and Existential Phenomenology, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', Intellect, 4.2, pp. 345-390.
  • Williamson, A. (2016), Reflections on Applied Existential Phenomenology to Spirituality in Somatics Movement Education and Therapy’, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, 8.4, 589-638.
  • Williamson, A. and Fraleigh, S. (2016), Closing Professorial reflections in Phenomenology and Spirituality, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities', Intellect, 4.2, pp. 874-890.
  • Williamson A, Eddy M, Hartley L, Talyor M, Meléndez E, Abrams M. Somatically inspired movement and prepatriarchal religious symbolism. Dance, Movement & Spiritualities. 2015 Dec 1;2(3):323-55.
  • Williamson, A. (2018), ‘Falling in Love with Language: Between body, writing, moving and painting’, in Performing Phenomenologies Of dance and enactment, Edited by Sondra Fraleigh, University of Illinois Press.
  • FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS - 2018
  • Edited Book (International Anthology): ‘Spiritual Herstories: Call of the Soul in Dance Research’, 2018, Intellect, Edited by Amanda Williamson
  • Chapter, Williamson, A (2018), Women’s perspective in somatics, in ‘Spiritual Herstories: Call of the Soul in Dance Research’, 2018, Intellect, Edited by Amanda Williamson.​
  • Special issues of The Journal of Dance, Movement & Spiritualities
  • Dance, Spirituality & Phenomenology (2015), Journal of Dance, Movement & Spiritualities, 2: 2
    Movements of deities and the Goddess: Contemporary applications and perspectives (2017), 4:2
    Dancing on earth (2017), Journal of Dance, Movement & Spiritualities, 4:2
    Dance, Movement & Buddhism, (2017), Journal of Dance, Movement & Spiritualities, 1, 1