Ruth Williams Hennessy

Ruth Williams Hennessy; Director, Hennessy Breath & BodyWork Ruth’s lifelong interest in mind-body-performance connections began with her mother’s daily practice of yoga and meditation in the 1960s, with the added benefit of teaching Ruth to think outside the box. Hennessy Breath & BodyWorkShops©, seen around the world, incorporate new concepts while respecting traditional teaching, thus employing a unique confluence of training, pedagogy, and performance experience.

Ruth’s vocal studies range from an exhaustive study of bel canto technique to vocology to Contemporary Commercial Music and Estill Voice Training. Her bodywork training spans kinesiology, anatomy, and physiology. Mentors include: Metropolitan Opera singer and master teacher Margaret Harshaw; Joan Lader, vocal therapist; Cathy Thompson, The Thompson MethodTM; Ron Hruska, Postural Restoration InstituteTM; and Karen Coe, Body-ReEducation. Ruth holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in Voice Performance from Indiana University.

Additional disciplines informing Ms. Hennessy’s work include resistance band and ball work; The Alexander Technique; Pilates; yoga; Laban/Bartenieff; Linklater (Warren); Feldenkrais; breathing techniques, including Stough Breathwork; shiatsu and massage techniques; tai chi; qigong; muscle release; resistance stretching; myo-fascial release; visualization; meditation; performance enhancement techniques; energy techniques; and the learning process itself.