Renowned Somatic Movement Educator Martha Eddy Joins MMC Faculty

Renowned somatic movement educator Martha Eddy joins Marymount Manhattan College as Visiting Artist-in-Residence and Fellow on Social Justice and Movement in MMC’s Ferraro Institute for Breakthrough Civic Leadership

Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Martha Eddy, RSMT, CMA, DEP, EdD, and Licensed TBMC, as MMC’s first Ferraro Fellow on Social Justice and Movement and Visiting Artist-in-Residence in MMC’s esteemed Dance Department, effective August 28, 2019. A renowned author, researcher, scholar, public speaker, and dance performer and educator, Dr. Eddy will coordinate MMC’s interdisciplinary program on Body, Science and Motion, develop a wellness program for MMC’s dancers, and create new programs that explore the intersections between dance, body science, and social justice for the Ferraro Institute.

Dr. Eddy is an international advocate of somatic movement education and therapy, as well as somatic movement dance education. She is the author of Mindful Movement: The Evolution of the Somatic Arts and Conscious Actionand a lecturer on embodied cognition, eco-somatics, the interaction of neuro-motor and socio-emotional development, and the role of the body and movement in peace education and violence prevention. She co-founded the Moving On Center in 1994 with Carol Swann in order to bridge somatic awareness with social change. She is also Advisory Council member and co-chair of the Health Committee of the Micah Institute, a NYC-based interfaith advocacy and education organization focused on justice for all. 

“Our goal as a premiere college dance program is to provide an unparalleled education to our students that focuses on wellness and prepares students for career longevity in dance and beyond,” says Katie Langan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Dance at MMC. “We are incredibly fortunate to advance our program’s mission and the myriad opportunities available to our students by having Dr. Eddy join us. A scholar-practitioner crossing disciplinary boundaries, Dr. Eddy will partner with MMC’s dance and science faculty and students to engage in scientific research that supports dance injury prevention, improves dance teaching, and encourages dancer wellness.”

As Fellow of Social Justice and Movement in MMC’s Geraldine A. Ferraro Institute for Breakthrough Civic Leadership (“The Ferraro Institute”), Dr. Eddy will develop public programming that supports community engagement through movement therapy modalities. She will collaborate with other MMC faculty and Ferraro fellows, modeling MMC’s commitment to place-based liberal arts education that integrates and grounds educational experience and research in contemporary community life. 

“Dr. Eddy’s work in the community made her a perfect candidate as our first Ferraro fellow; she has a long record of cross-disciplinary collaboration in a number of community contexts that demonstrate the transformative value of connecting the arts and sciences with social justice work. In addition, having Martha as a Visiting Artist-in-Residence is a boon to our Body, Science and Motion program that explores the intersections between dance, biology, and neuroscience,” says Sharon M. Meagher, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at MMC. “Undergraduate study in this program prepares our students to continue their studies to become physical therapists, dance therapists, practitioners of other variants of somatic therapy, and/or to run/develop dance wellness programs for major dance companies. We also look forward to offering graduate and/or non-credit certificates in a number of different techniques for adult learners.”

Dr. Eddy comes to Marymount Manhattan with more than three decades’ experience. She has served on the faculties of Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, San Francisco State University, and numerous undergraduate colleges over the past 35 years. She earned her master’s degree in Applied Physiology and her doctorate in Movement Science from the Department of BioBehavioral Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. 


About Martha Eddy
Dr. Eddy has a long career in the instructional areas of somatics and movement science, including anatomy and physiology, and has been involved with medical research related to dance, therapeutic movement, and adherence to physical activity. She brings to all of this work her academic studies in curriculum development using the movement sciences within biobehavioral studies and health promotion. As a founding member and early conference coordinator for the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, she holds a strong belief in advocating for creative career development in somatic dance and dance science. She is known for her work as a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist and as founder of the Dynamic Embodiment – Somatic Movement Therapy Training (DE-SMTT) program, which integrates skilled touch, movement, and compassionate dialogue to help people of all ages and abilities to relieve stress, find enhanced expressiveness, and balance all aspects of the body and psyche.


About Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) is a coeducational, independent, private liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development. To learn more about MMC, please visit: www.mmm.edu.


About the Ferraro Institute for Breakthrough Civic Leadership
Marymount Manhattan College’s Geraldine A. Ferraro Institute for Breakthrough Civic Leadership (“The Ferraro Institute”) is a multidisciplinary platform exploring civic leadership through the arts, media, and community engagement and public service, as well as the role of higher education in advancing civic thought and supporting emerging leaders in our society. The Ferraro Institute draws on the broad resources of Marymount Manhattan College, its deep history in civic activism and social justice, and its commitment to place-based learning to integrate and ground educational experience and research in contemporary community life.

The work of the Ferraro Institute is catalyzed by its fellows—appointed scholar-practitioners crossing disciplinary boundaries—who spearhead MMC curriculum development and develop public programs that highlight the mission of the Ferraro Institute.

Published: May 24, 2019