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Martha Russell first uncovered the principles that she called Creative Motion after a lengthy personal study with a variety of teachers. She shared the knowledge of her discoveries with several students - who were also fellow teachers - inviting them to her home in LaJolla, California for several summer institutes held throughout the 1920's.
Opal Gilpatrick was one of those lucky few who were able to live, work and study with Martha Russell at her seaside home. After Mrs. Russell died in 1951, Margaret Allen, another student of Mrs. Russell began to sponsor a week-long workshop at her mountain-top estate near Berea, Kentucky. Opal was promptly requested to become an integral part of the teaching team in those early days, leading the Creative Motion Body Tuning classes and earning both respect and affection from her many eager students. Through her efforts and the work of countless others, Creative Motion study has been passed from teacher to student through the years, and continues to this day. |
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Opal Felkner Gilpatrick was born in 1899 in Centreville, Iowa. She was a student of piano at the Columbia School of Music in Chicago, Illinois, where she received the following degrees: Normal Training Course (1918), Senior Collegiate (1919) and Post-Graduate (1921). She played in concerts and taught in the Chicago area for the next few years.
Opal's teacher, Mrs. Gertrude Murdough, suggested that she travel to La Jolla to study with Martha Russell, which she did. (Mrs. Russell's close friend, Florice Tanner, wrote in her book "Basic Energies in Wholeness" that Martha conducted classes in Chicago as well as in other major U.S. cities. Experimental work in Creative Motion applied to academic subjects, the arts and sports had been undertaken in Winnetka, Illinois. The University of Chicago, under a grant by the Ford Foundation, consulted with teachers about this work.) |
Opal Gilpatrick leads a Creative Motion Body Tuning Class on the terrace at Windswept (circa 1967) |
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Opal married Meredith Gilpatrick and moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland, a suburb of Washington D.C. Her husband worked for the State Department and then later as a professor of Political Science at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. They had two children, Perry and Rosalyn. Opal carried on Creative Motion work in Columbus, Ohio, where she maintained a large studio of private students.
Among her students was Marilyn (Cornell-Patton) Alcala, who became a life member of the Creative Motion Alliance. Marilyn says that "Opal personified Creative Motion. She modeled it with every breath she took and was an extremely centered and kind-hearted woman."
Opal's daughter Rosalyn says that her mother "had an extraordinary gift of talent and understanding."
Opal joined the Windswept Music Workshop in 1954 and remained active as a teacher of the body class and piano class there until her death in February of 1968.
Many share the belief that is was Opal's passing that led so many to begin to try to record and preserve this important body of knowledge. In 1971, fellow Creative Motion teachers Margaret Allen and Niles wrote the text "Creative Motion" which includes written notes and exercises offered at workshops by Opal Gilpatrick. |
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On the links below, please find a few of Opal's favorite sayings - termed "Opalisms" and one of the classic Creative Motion timed relaxation exercises known as the "Snowball." |
