Information AboutEurythmy |
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Eurythmy is primarily a Performing Art . It is also used as a Therapy and taught to children for its Pedagogical value (especially in Waldorf School s). MOVEMENT REPERTOIRE Steiner described eurythmy as an "art of the soul". Its gestures unite subjective experience with the objective reality of what is being expressed (the music, poetry or other theme chosen). The Gestures that build the basic movement repertoire of a eurythmist are connected to the sounds and rhythms of language, to the tonal experience of music, to fundamental soul experiences (such as joy and sorrow), and so on. Once this fundamental repertoire is mastered, it can be composed into free artistic expressions. Most eurythmy today is performed to Classical (concert) Music or texts such as Poetry or stories. Silent pieces are also sometimes performed. Eurythmy to Music When performing eurythmy to music (also called ''tone eurythmy''), the three major elements of music are all expressed: Melody , Harmony and Rhythm . The melody is primarily conveyed through expressing the rising and falling Pitch , the tones as they relate to the Tonic (if this exists, i.e. in Tonal Music ) and the tones as archetypal human experience, independently of their relationship to the tonic. Harmony is expressed through movement between tension and release, as expressions of dissonance and consonance, and between the more inwardly directed minor mood and the outwardly directed major mood. Rhythm is conveyed through the step or pace of movement; in addition, longer tones move into the more passive (listening) back space, quicker tones into the more active front space. Trills and other ornaments have their own characteristic expressions. Breaths or pauses are expressed through a larger or smaller movement in space, giving new impulse to what follows. Beat is conveyed through greater emphasis of downbeats, or those beats upon which stress is normally placed. Beat is generally treated as a subsidiary element, corresponding to its treatment in folk and mainstream music. Eurythmy has only occasionally been done to popular music, in which beat plays a larger role. The timbre of individual instruments is brought into the quality both of the tonal gestures and of the whole movement of the eurythmist. Usually there will be a different eurythmist or group of eurythmists expressing each instrument, for example in chamber or symphonic music. A piece's Choreography usually expresses elements such as the major or minor mood, the shape of the melody line, the interplay between voices or instruments and the relative dominance of one or another voice or instrument. Thus, musicians can often follow even the finest details of their part in the movements of the eurythmists on stage. Particular musical forms (e.g. the Sonata ) can have special characteristic choreographic expressions. The above covers the craft of eurythmy to music. The art of eurythmy arises when the eurythmists' inner experience of the music, and of the feelings this expresses, infuses the whole objective expression of the piece, just as a musician must master playing the objective tones, yet fill this with inner life. Eurythmy to spoken texts Eurythmy is often done to spoken texts such as poetry, stories or plays. The elements of ''speech eurythmy'' include the gives to the airstream when speaking different sounds. Rudolf Steiner, Lecture of 26 August, 1923 Speech rhythms are conveyed through the step or pace of movement (in a way analogous to musical eurythmy). Special gestures characterize qualities such as joy, sorrow, hope, despair, affirmation and rejection inherent in the text. The Choreography expresses such factors as the dramatic relationship between characters, the descriptions and structure of a story, and the poetic form including any rhyme scheme. HISTORY Eurythmy was born in 1911 when a widow brought her young daughter, Lory Smits, who was interested in movement and dance, to the Austria n Philosopher Rudolf Steiner . Due to the recent loss of her father, it was necessary for the girl to find a career. Steiner's advice was sought; he suggested that the girl begin working on a new art of movement. As preparation for this, she began to study human anatomy, to explore the human step, to contemplate the movement implicit in Greek sculpture and dance, and to find movements that would express quite simple sentences. Soon a number of other young people became interested in this form of expressive movement, as well. During these years, Steiner was writing a new drama each year for performance at the Anthroposophical Society 's summer gatherings; beginning in 1912 , he began to incorporate the new art of movement into these dramas. When the Society decided to build an artistic center in Dornach , Switzerland (this later became known as the Goetheanum ) a small stage group began work and offered weekly performances of the developing art. Marie Steiner-von Sivers, Steiner's wife, who was a trained actress and speech artist, was given responsibility for training and directing this ensemble. This first eurythmy ensemble went on tour in 1919 , performing across Switzerland , the Netherlands and Germany . In 1924 , Steiner gave two intensive workshops on different aspects of eurythmy; transcripts of his talks during these workshops are published as ''Eurythmy as Visible Speech'' and ''Eurythmy as Visible Song''. Eurythmy ensembles in Stuttgart , Germany and at the Goetheanum soon became established parts of the cultural life of Europe. The Goetheanum ensemble was recognized with a gold medal at the Paris Expo of 1938 . The Stuttgart training and ensemble, led by Else Klink, had to close in the Nazi period but reopened shortly after the close of World War II . There are now training centers and artistic ensembles in many countries. EURYTHMY AS A PERFORMING ART There are major eurythmy ensembles in Dornach , Switzerland ; Stuttgart , Germany ; Den Haag , the Netherlands ; Järna , Sweden and near New York City , USA . All of these groups both perform locally and tour internationally. Many smaller performing groups also exist (see list) . PEDAGOGICAL EURYTHMY When the first Waldorf School was founded in 1919 , Eurythmy was included in the curriculum. It was quickly recognized as a successful complement to Gymnastics in the school's movement program and is now taught in most Waldorf Schools, in many other pre-school centers and kindergartens and in some other private (and occasionally in state-run) schools. There are post-graduate trainings for eurythmy teachers; however, pedagogical trainings are increasingly being incorporated into four-year, basic eurythmy trainings. THERAPEUTIC EURYTHMY There are post-graduate trainings in the therapeutic use of eurythmy. Therapeutic eurythmy can be helpful in conditions of illness that have both Psychological and Somatic components. FOR MORE INFORMATION
TRAINING PROGRAMS Full-time eurythmy trainings are generally four-year programs. There are an increasing number of part-time and even distance trainings available.
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