Eurythmy

Eurythmy is an expressive movement art originated by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with his wife, Marie, in the early 20th century.

Primarily a performance art, it is also used in education, especially in Waldorf schools, and – as part of anthroposophic medicine – for claimed therapeutic purposes.

[3] Eurythmy was conceived in 1911 when a widow brought her young daughter, Lory Smits, who was interested in movement and dance, to Rudolf Steiner.

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.

Steiner saw eurythmy as a unique expression of the anthroposophical impulse:It is the task of Anthroposophy to bring a greater depth, a wider vision and a more living spirit into the other forms of art.

[5]According to Steiner: "In eurythmy we present in the form and movement of the human organism a direct external proof of a man's share in the life of the supersensible world.

[citation needed] Eurythmy ensembles in Stuttgart, Germany and at the Goetheanum soon became established parts of the cultural life of Europe.

The eurythmist also cultivates a feeling for the qualities of straight lines and curves, the directions of movement in space (forward, backward, up, down, left, right), contraction and expansion, and color.

Rhythm is chiefly conveyed through livelier and more contoured movements for quick notes, slower, dreamier movements for longer notes; in addition, longer tones move into the more passive (listening) back space, quicker tones into the more active front space.

Its purpose is to awaken and strengthen the expressive capacities of children through movement, stimulating the child to bring imagination, ideation and conceptualization to the point where they can manifest these as "vital, moving forms" in physical space.

Eurythmy pedagogical exercises begin with the straight line and curve and proceed through successively more complicated geometric figures and choreographed forms, developing a child's coordination and concentration.

Though there are some independent post-graduate trainings for pedagogical eurythmy, this aspect is frequently included in courses focusing on artistic work.

[16] According to the precepts of anthroposophic medicine, a human has four aspects which need to be treated: spirit, soul, life and matter.

She recalled in an interview in 2014, "When I was a kid at school, there was a very adorable, mildly eccentric dance teacher who taught a form of music through movement that was called eurhythmics".

[21] Eurhythmics, with its English spelling, is an approach to music education developed by the Swiss composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze.

While training as a classical musician at the Royal Academy of Music, London, Lennox attended the Dalcroze UK Spring Course of 1974.