Mandoline Whittlesey

Mandoline Whittlesey was introduced to Authentic Movement at Oberlin College (BA creative writing & dance,1999-2002). Meeting Andrea Olsen in 2001 launched an in-depth dive, connecting the practice to writing and acknowledging place. She next studied with Susan Schell, Alton Wasson and later Celine Gimbrère, and began teaching Authentic Movement in 2007.

Increasingly dedicated to her longing for shared sacred space, in 2014 Mandoline immersed herself in a solo retreat with Janet Adler, who remained her mentor during deepening study in the Discipline of Authentic Movement with Celine Gimbrère, Jane Bacon, and Fran Lavendel.

Mandoline holds annual retreats in the discipline for long-term students and hosts individual retreats in Drôme, where she lives. She leads workshops year-round and collaborates with colleagues in somatic, academic, artistic and spiritual fields. 

Certified practitioner of Body-Mind Centering®, trained in body-centered psychotherapy, Mandoline teaches courses in nervous system regulation and encourages self-directed healing within heart-centered community.

A dual citizen of France and the United States and fluently bi-lingual, Mandoline translates poetry and theory and organizes Embodied Writing retreats. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts (choreography and visual arts, 2017) and dances for pleasure, for life.

Devotion to unknowing infuses her world.