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Alison Stevens Memorial Celebration

Saturday June 16th – 6:00-10:00pm

@ Gowanus Arts 295 Douglass Street

A memorial celebration of Alison’s life will be held in the Spoke the Hub Space @ Gowanus Arts on Saturday June 16th  from 6:00-10:00pm. As per Alison’s request, please join us for good company, fine music, dancing, art making, delicious food and drink, and a joyful story-telling in her honor.

Spoke the Hub’s Space @ Gowanus Arts is located at 295 Douglass Street, (between 3rd and 4th Avenues) in Brooklyn. We are on the 3rd floor, buzzer #6.

An RSVP is appreciated. For further information or questions, please contact elise@spokethehub.org

Please bring any personal Alison anecdotes and photos you might have so that we can post them on her “memory wall” at this event and share them with her friends and family.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, Alison requested that donations in her honor be made to Planned Parenthood or Shin-Budo Kai Dojo of NY. Please send or drop off checks at Spoke the Hub, 748 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

And, because Alison loved purple iris, Spoke the Hub would like to create an iris flower garden in the fall in front of the Gowanus as a living memorial to our dear friend. Flower and bulb contributions will be accepted at any time.


Alison Stevens — 1959-2012

A physical therapist and dancer, Alison passed away at her home in Omaha. on May 10, 2012 after a lengthy battle with metastatic breast cancer. Alison dedicated her life to movement arts, dance and healing of the body through functional movement. She was a respected authority in physical and massage therapy, yoga, dance, Pilates, and martial arts, conducting seminars and teaching to practicing professionals in these fields nationally. A voracious reader, she educated herself on social issues and was an advocate for the underserved. Born on April 28, 1959, Alison spent her childhood in Syracuse NY, enjoying dance and many summers on Skaneateles Lake. After graduating from Nottingham High School in 1977, she graduated from Hobart and William Smith College in 1981 with a BA in Fine Arts and a minor in dance. In 1982, she relocated to New York City and made her home in Brooklyn. She spent 25 years studying and practicing as a massage therapist, yoga instructor and Physical Therapist. During her early years in New York, she performed with several modern dance companies, including MOMOMO Dance Co., Spoke the Hub Dancing, Local Flora, and Dancing in the Streets. She worked at the Dance Notation Bureau and earned Master’s degrees from the Gallatin Center at New York University in Movement and in Physical Therapy from SUNY Downstate Medical Center. In 1995, she founded Ronin Physical Therapy, which drew upon her extensive background and focused on precise movement education. In keeping with her lifelong passion for movement arts, Alison became an expert in the practice of Aikido, studying under Imaizumi Sensei at New York’s Shin-Budo Kai for 18 years, achieving the rank of Sandan. She was one of the first female students to achieve this rank. In 2007, Alison relocated to Omaha, NE, joining her husband, John Macy, who she married that year. Together they ran RoninWest Physical Therapy, a practice which embodies and continues many of the philosophies that Alison pioneered and held dear. Her fellow PT, Cristiana Kahl, said, “Alison had a gift that came not from her head but from her hands. She could read the body with her hands and knew what to do.” Alison’s passion for working with her hands extended to her craftwork, including knitting, beadwork, and sewing. Alison is preceded in death by her mother, Anne Stevens in 2010. She is survived by her husband, John Macy, Omaha; father Philip (Margueritte) Stevens, Skaneateles NY; brother Andrew (Angela) and niece, Erica Anne Stevens, Homer NY; many relatives and friends.

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