ABSTRACT
Frederick Alexander came to realise how crucial this understanding was in the early part of the twentieth century and his ideas are now a commonplace in the training, care and health of Western actors. The Alexander technique makes much use of the chair and of sitting and standing in easy, efficient ways. Alexander was part of a Western acting tradition, upright and led by the head where the seventh vertebra is a key to movement. Eastern and Southern cultures have a closer relationship with the floor than Western cultures do. They make less use of the chair and when they do, it becomes a symbol of power, status and authority rather than a utility for comfort. In Asia, sitting on the floor is often preferred to sitting on chairs. This leads to a different physicality in the Eastern performer to the Western performer, characterised by a different centre of gravity.
