Eurythmy has been part of the curriculum of the Waldorf school since its inception. The art of eurythmy is an expression of what lives in speech and music, and as such it is part of the aesthetic education, using archetypal gestures and spatial movement in a way which gradually creates an awareness in the children of how they move and express themselves. The teaching of eurythmy contributes to a schooling of aesthetic and dynamic powers of expression, and is a unique and integral part of Waldorf pedagogy.
Besides its important place in the arts curriculum of the Waldorf school, eurythmy, together with gymnastics and sport, has a balancing effect in relation to the other subjects. It creates capacities and gives the school day a healthy rhythm.
There is an extensive literature on eurythmy teaching (see bibliography), describing the methods employed in greater detail than space here permits.
This chapter on eurythmy is a slight abbreviation of the text as published in Germany. Moreover, it is important to note that all indications as regards the choice of music pieces have been given with a central European (or German) context in mind. Within other cultural contexts it is recommended that music be chosen that is locally appropriate and offers similar challenges.
In the movements we make in eurythmy, our own body becomes the instrument to express what lives in speech and music. The study and cultivation of the expressive potential of these movements constitutes a fundamental point of departure for many learning processes and for the personality development of children and young people. Among these are the ability to work creatively with the expression of soul-qualities, the training of an ear for music and language, the development of motor skills, the co-ordination of one’s own body movements and of movements in groups, spatial orientation and perception of spatial qualities, development of the social skills of teamwork (when to assert oneself, when to hold back), the nurturing of creative independence and confidence (personal presence). Feeling present in one’s own body and strengthening self- and group-awareness can contribute much to the development of personality, inner mastery, and self-acceptance. The faculty of self-motivated expression in eurythmy is built up and practised over the whole period of schooling.
Live accompaniment is required in eurythmy lessons for the work on pieces of music and for many of the movement exercises, and this is usually done by a musician – mostly on piano – working alongside the teacher.
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
Fairy tales, poems and games are done in a pictorial way that seamlessly spans the whole lesson. This is helped along by the rhythm and rhyme of the texts, which are spoken repeatedly with variation in tempo or intensity.
Physical coordination and dexterity
Class one pupils gradually improve in their ability to distinguish left from right. Numerous clapping and hopping exercises help in this. In walking, depending on the story content, they step, skip or hop in different ways: big – small, fast – slow, dainty – heavy, creeping – rushing etc. This can also include walking on tiptoe or heels. They learn to move the fingers of one hand independently of one another, and the fingers of both hands in different ways at the same time. Many clapping exercises: loud and soft, fast and slow etc. are practised. In addition, the children can do counting and arithmetic with their feet. They also very much enjoy clapping with their feet (the “caper”). In this, we should only hear the feet clapping, not the sound of them landing on the floor.
Eurythmy forms
One of the main things in class one is to develop a feeling for making a circle together. By the end of the school year they can see whether they are all evenly spaced along the line of the circle, and whether it is really round. Adjusting a circle is challenging for a first grader, but they learn to manage when it’s in movement!] In many variations, straight and curved forms are practised. In carrying out these movements, all children quite naturally “follow their noses”. The forms vary according to the story and the pictures it contains. A form must end by bringing all the children back to their starting place.
Gestures
Class-one children learn gestures by imitating those of the teacher. These are constantly repeated with many variations. In this way they become so familiar with them that some children are glad to show them on their own. It is important that whatever picture lives in a particular word, for instance, the T in tree, it should also live in the teacher’s imagination as he or she speaks it or shows it as a gesture. The gestures chosen are determined by the images in the story or in the melody of its language.
Suggested lesson content
Physical coordination and dexterity
Eurythmy forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
(1) In eurythmy each speech-sound (phoneme) has its own gesture
(2) Each musical interval has its own eurythmy gesture (cf. Steiner 2015: GA 278, lecture 20.2.24
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
In keeping with the main lesson narrative material for grade 2, animal fables and legends form the centrepiece of eurythmy lessons. With animal fables the children can slip into the movements of different animal characters; through these movements they have an intense experience of the bodily senses. Rhyme and rhythm retreat a little into the background. Grade two children now begin to break away from continual imitation.
Physical coordination and dexterity
The exercises for grade 2 pupils are similar to those for grade 1. Much more, however, is demanded of the children: if the teacher demonstrates an exercise with his or her right foot, the children are expected to be able to mirror this with their left foot, and so on. In addition, they could reverse what they have been shown. The same applies to hands and fingers. Soon these will become skilful enough to be used also for imitating sound gestures.
Eurythmy forms
For grade 2 pupils forming a circle becomes second nature. They are still able to preserve the spacing with their neighbours, even when the circle dissolves into a snaking line. All forms also involve following your nose either towards or around a point. Within the circle triangular and square figures now arise. These pathways within the circle are walked either one after another or at the same time, all leading back to their starting point. As is done with the lines or word-groups from the poems, the motifs of little pieces of music can accompany the walking of the forms.
Gestures
In grade two imitating the teacher is still the method of learning the gestures, but now the children can vary them for themselves.
After a lot of practice they can also do certain passages on their own. The correspondence between what they hear and what they see stimulates the children’s imagination, such that in the next lesson they can reproduce the movement. The gestures are determined by the images in the story or in the melody of its language.
Suggested lesson content
Physical coordination and dexterity
Eurythmy forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
*Steiner GA 277a, 31.08.1915 (German edition 1998, p. 84); Stein-von Baditz 1991: p. 12f.: Dubach-Donath 1981: p. 226ff.
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
Class three children are approaching the Rubicon (→ Background considerations for teaching in the primary and middle school). Accordingly, there is a dramatic change in the character of the lessons. The children become “experts” as regards all the habits that have been established as contributing to a well-run eurythmy lesson. They correct their classmates if something is not in order. They are keen to learn, and to find variations for what has been shown to them. They are now capable of having a little part of their own: one child does the movement for the first motif, another takes the next one, and so on. This involves alternately moving and standing still. Accurately taking turns like this exercises presence of mind and alertness. Even when changed into a snake moving through the room, the circle remains the basis of all the forms. The small geometric forms, however, are additions to it. Class three children now begin to be able to perceive where and how the circle needs to be adjusted. Forms are still almost always done by following their nose, but occasionally frontal orientation – for instance, while doing the form of a polonaise – appears by chance. The children do not simply imitate the teacher any longer, but experience things much more directly with their own body – for instance, in doing the movement of the “K” it is as if they were carrying out the stroke of an axe or a hammer. This echoes the experience they have with the main lessons on trades and occupations. The texts used no longer need to follow the laws of rhyme and rhythm. The repeated practising of gestures and forms is necessary, if an awareness of the relationship between gesture and spoken word is to appear by the end of class three or the beginning of class four. For this reason, the aim is for the children to perform, after a lot of practice, many passages, both long and short, from the things they have been working on.
Physical coordination and dexterity
Class three children enjoy finding mirror-images and little variations of their own. The exercises with legs, feet, arms, hands, and fingers may well be done backwards. Variations in the vowels form the basis of many physical coordination exercises. In addition, the children will do different ways of hopping and stepping in connection with the images in the story material. Since they are becoming ever more skilful, they very much enjoy speeding things up and slowing them down.
Eurythmy forms
On the circle the children form groups of two three or four and walk straight or round forms, either together or one after the other. The small geometric forms arise and dissolve according to the instruction given. By now the children have such a clear feeling for these forms, that they are able to make suggestions of their own as to which one goes with which piece of music or text. All pathways must end where they started from. The children learn the music pieces or texts one section at a time, first by listening and then by carrying it out. Thus, the pathways within the forms arise out of particular motifs from short pieces of music or texts.
Gestures
The pupils of class three receive the teacher’s gestures with a new alertness. Even when gestures are done silently, they can recognise the text. It is helpful when, for instance, in connection with different crafts, particular consonants are often repeated, small or large, fast or slow, high or low. Thus, with each sound the children go through a characteristic experience of the movement. The child’s imagination will be stimulated by his or her perception of the correspondence between hearing and seeing the movement, and this will be experienced as true. In this way the child makes the movement his or her own. Overall the gestures are now carried out in a more flowing way.
Suggested lesson content
Physical coordination and dexterity
Eurythmy forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
(all these activities are done with musical accompaniment)
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
In grade four most of the children have gone through the “Rubicon” (→ Background considerations for teaching in the primary and middle school). They have a new inwardness in their demeanour. They see through things and face the adult world with a certain bravado and air of challenge. Eurythmy meets this new detachment mainly by doing all kinds of crossing over exercises: myself here, you there. The feeling of being opposite is also emphasised by having the children move the forms with frontal orientation (as if towards an “audience”). Their own position in relation to their surroundings changes. In addition, children at this age display a fine-tuned sense for the qualities of individual (speech) sounds and sound combinations. A deeper appreciation and understanding of language opens up a path to grammar, which now makes its appearance in speech eurythmy. Similarly, the ability to hear the subtle qualities of tones and melodies, to distinguish between the major and the minor third and recognise rhythms, means that tone-eurythmy can now begin. Grade four children take delight in riddles, and they use it to discover for themselves as much from eurythmy as they can. They enjoy practising things, for they have a natural inclination to improve their skills in relation to what they have learned. They like putting things together, e.g. combining single sounds into words. Now and again they can be given well-defined tasks in small groups, and then show the outcome.
Watching each other’s efforts and then talking about what was good and what still needs practice is all part of the process. Once all these discoveries [of theirs] have been worked on with the teacher, the children need to get to the point of being able to perform them well without any assistance.
Physical coordination and dexterity
Physical coordination exercises in grade four lie in the realm of verbal and musical rhythms in connection with form and gesture. Rhythm exercises with hands and feet create a lively structure. Describing an eight around a straight line, for instance, can either be walked in regular or rhythmically organised steps. The familiar geometric form can also be treated in this way. Many foot exercises involve crossing the legs. The alphabet also offers innumerable opportunities for increasing skills. Movements can be small or large, fast or slow, high or low, behind or in front, and all these possibilities can also be varied. The alphabet can be performed with the feet, the legs, the arms, the forearms, the hands, single fingers, and even the face and head. In this way each part of the whole body is made subject to the influence of formative movement.
Eurythmy forms
While use of the circle is still prevalent, the new element in grade 4 is frontal orientation. The already familiar forms are also carried out with frontal gaze. This requires new skill in relation to one’s own movement and to space. Forms (“Apollinian”) related to grammar can now be accomplished. Moreover, in mirroring forms the children can now respond in a different, new and more confident way. Large forms are done by following one’s nose; they fill the whole space evenly with one flowing movement. It is perfectly possible to incorporate cross-overs into this – they bring about face-to-face encounters which have to be sorted out through quick thinking.
Gestures
Grade four pupils are now thoroughly familiar with the alphabet in eurythmy and enjoy trying out variations of the speech-sound gestures. They want to be sure that they are doing them beautifully and correctly and in keeping with the particular context. In thus playing with the sounds, the children are very open to refining them through bringing them into connection with the senses of sight, taste, smell and warmth. For instance, if they are doing the “t” of the word “tree”, the teacher can ask them what the tree looks like, what its fruit tastes like, what sort of scent its flowers have, and how warm it is in the poetic scene the tree appears in. Through enriching the children’s mental images in this way their movements become more differentiated and exact. When the alliterative verses of Nordic Mythology (an established narrative theme for this year) are accompanied by the special kind of steps devised for them, some sounds stand out particularly strongly. At the same time this gives support to the back and posture.
In tone-eurythmy the children learn the gestures of the scale of C-major. When they have mastered these within the scope of one octave, then they can begin to invent their own little melodies with the eight tones. It can be made into a game, whereby one child shows a sequence of notes, which the accompanist reads from the movements and then plays. All the children then repeat it.
Suggested lesson content
Physical coordination and dexterity
Eurythmy forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
*In eurythmy every tone is shown by a different angle of the arm
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
Class five pupils approach eurythmy with a new air of familiarity. Since they have absorbed many of its elements in the lower primary school, the subject can now be taught with a new ductus. The task is now to concentrate on making the gestures and forms beautiful and harmonious. The pupils try out many variations on the exercises and decide then which one works best. Many of them have a sound sense of precision and timing, and they are keen to show the outcomes of their work at school festivals or parental gatherings.
With the feeling for quality they now have, the pupils are encouraged to contribute their ideas as to how the exercises and pieces should look. With the supportive framework of the elements of eurythmy they know (gestures, grammatical and geometrical forms etc.) and the constant assistance of the teacher, they are now capable of working independently in small groups. This is a good way of taking advantage of their willingness to work and their readiness to engage in little contests with each other. All the groups share what they have worked out. The desire to excel, but also teamwork and imagination are acknowledged.
The pupils acquire sure-footedness, determination and accuracy, all of which form a sound basis to carry them through the coming years of school. At this age, therefore, the foundations, the framework for all subsequent paths of learning in, and methods of working with, eurythmy are laid down.
Class five pupils often have a fine sense of humour. In the form of humorous texts and jolly pieces of music, this element can also be integrated into eurythmy lessons. This does not mean, however, that they are not capable of dealing with more serious material. On the contrary, they can well be described as little philosophers who, with a still child-like ease, are open to profound questions.
Physical coordination
Class five pupils will gladly accept the challenge of exercises that tax their dexterity or skill in movement. Rhythm exercises can all contain both musical and speech rhythms. There are a number of examples of exercises which can be developed through variations of form into movement canons. Much can be achieved in the way of refining skills and polishing up movements by varying tempos and the size of the gestures in practising the alphabet.
Spatial forms
The five-pointed star is introduced as a new form element. The children can experience this figure in the shape of their own bodies. When they stand with legs apart and arms outstretched they are making an (almost) regular pentagon. They also learn to move a pentagon or five-pointed star as a eurythmy form. This process can be done as a solo or in a group.
With the “harmonious eight” (a geometric transformation of the lemniscate), mirrorings within eurythmy forms, as well as the relationship between inner and outer, are lifted onto a new level.
The main lesson theme of the history and mythology of ancient civilizations is taken up in eurythmy lessons and thereby deepened. By bringing various historical texts into movement the various cultural epochs are given concrete bodily and emotional immediacy.
Gestures
In class five the children learn to do the eurythmy gestures in parallel with walking the spatial forms. This gives them a considerable challenge in coordination. Doing these two activities simultaneously clearly enlarges the scope for expression. In addition, the children are able to bring the gestures that fit the form slowly into play.
Following on from the C-major scale learned in class 4, the major scales of the circle of fifths are introduced and practised. It is now possible to do pieces of music in two parts.
Suggested lesson content
Physical coordination
Spatial forms
Gestures
*Gestures done more forwards or more back in parallel with the rise and fall of the melody
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
In grade 6, there is a notable shift in the way children approach the world and other people. They probe into the nature of things more strongly and seek for causal connections. At the same time, they often have to deal with early growth spurts.
The previously more or less harmonious proportions of the body begin to shift. Because of this, sixth graders have to deal with the mechanics and sheer weight of their longer limbs They have to find a new relationship to their bodies.
Eurythmy lessons now take a new turn, in that more than before the students are invited to be involved in the planning of the work and are informed about the reasons behind the various exercises. In other words, there is a transformation in the way of working: whereas before things arose from doing, from the movement itself, now it becomes possible to devise things out of thinking. In addition, the practising of geometric forms involves a schooling in perception, precision and in awareness of the quality of one’s own movement.
The students experience and realise the discrepancy between what they can do and what they could be able to do, between present reality and the ideal of their own higher aim. Musically speaking, this refers to the experience of the intervals (developmental dynamics), especially in relation to the octave: therefore the comprehensive octave gesture, both in tone eurythmy and in the choice of poems, features large in eurythmy lessons. A prime example here is the ballad, where individual destinies are often brought into relation with higher laws.
When the students ask what the point of learning eurythmy is, they should be given substantial, well-informed answers.
Physical coordination
The bodily process occurring at this phase of development often produces growing pains. They lead to physical discomfort, but also to a more conscious experience of the act of movement. Exercises in rhythm and counter-rhythm create security and grant the ability to trust the changes in the body’s way of moving. Geometric forms combined with exact, rhythmic steps make for exciting exercises, which present the students with a challenge, and at the same time provoke them into inventing variations.
Spatial forms
Most suitable here are complex geometric forms that foster collective exploration: once a form has been shown on the blackboard, the children like to discover how to do it by figuring it out together. Forms based upon the triangle and hexagon are best suited to grade six. Once the principle has been grasped, it can form the basis for a variety of artistic work. The students arrange these dynamic spatial forms mainly with frontal orientation. Speeding up and slowing down are artistic effects that can be consciously applied.
It is still important for the students that at the end of a piece they should have returned to their starting places.
Gestures
At this age students begin to be able to sense and express the inner qualities of eurythmy forms and gestures: they hear and experience individual intervals and are capable of putting them into movement, expressing their dynamic contrasts in a variety of ways. Experience has shown that it is good to begin with the octave. They often recognise intervals they have learnt in previous years (the fifth at the very beginning, the third at the Rubicon).
For the students the vowels give a clear structure, while the consonants are sculptural forms. Practising and experiencing them thus renders the speech gestures more differentiated: harder, softer, smoother, rougher, slower, faster.
The students’ ongoing struggle with their growing limbs is met, both in pictorial and practical terms, by exercises with copper rods. Working with these acts as an external corrective which aids precision, without having to say anything about how the young people are moving. Puberty generally makes speaking about such things very difficult.
Suggested lesson content
Physical coordination
Spatial forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
*Group forms which correspond to the geometric shapes of the vowel gestures
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
With puberty, young people enter into a phase of intense change in the way they experience themselves. Often what happens is a strong tendency towards disengagement from their surroundings, which goes hand in hand with a marked group mentality. At the same time they begin to become aware of the riddle of their own selfhood, and thus become critical observers of their peers and the adults around them. Inner experience and body image no longer correspond, especially for girls. In many cases the whole process is also accompanied by growing pains. These changes are also evident in the way they move. The playful un-self-consciousness they had before often gives way to a heavy awkwardness and unwillingness to move. The movements look gangly and the students often feel this themselves.
However, it is not only in the realm of movement that young people of this age feel themselves increasingly clearly confronted with the limits of their abilities. This also extends into that of social relationships. Friendships suddenly come to an end, or are broken off. Young people of this age may also become socially assertive. With a fine sense of justice they will stand up for their own individual interests – especially the girls – but also those of their fellow-students. The individual personality becomes more clearly apparent.
At this time swings of tempo, mood and theme help to liven up the lessons.
If the students are given well-structured direction they can then work independently in small groups. On comprehensible, clearly formulated tasks they are well able to cooperate with each other.
Spatial forms
The geometric forms become more complex and differentiated. Exactly working out structures and the laws behind them and complex arrangements of forms promotes the interplay between rhythms and geometry and lends the movements clarity and precision. Subsequent to this, exercises are chosen in such a way that students’ spatial pathways become increasingly individualised. Sometimes they even move back to back. A further challenge is offered by the task of continually seeking new spatial orientations towards their fellow-students. They are capable of comprehensively grasping large forms: out of the work in small groups large-scale choreographies can arise, involving the whole class.
The students are now able to maintain frontal orientation all the time. Fixed places are only necessary at the beginning. To this end they can be arranged in rows, in geometric groups and sometimes even in individual places.
Gestures
The inner resistance which seventh graders often have can be met by working with them on “soul gestures” (including positioning of head and feet) within the context of the already familiar speech gestures. The soul gestures enable a conscious working with different moods, which would otherwise be experienced merely as aimless fluctuations. Using standardised gestures like this makes it possible to express aspects of soul life without being forced to reveal too much of one’s own personal feelings. Children are very sensitive at this age and may be reluctant to participate if they feel they have to reveal too much of themselves. Through this work on the expression of moods, of course, the store of gestures that can be used is also being extended. The speech gestures can be modified by the soul -gestures. Simple ballads are suitable material here for {realisation in} eurythmy. They are full of moods and expressions of feeling, but they also contain individual characters which can be worked on as roles.
In tone-eurythmy the work on the intervals continues. Here soul qualities also appear in the different atmospheres of major and minor. Both are explored through simple pieces of music, either parallel or in alternation.
Rod exercises also continue. Keeping things within the contained framework of the familiar standard exercises makes it easier for the students to overcome their own uncertainties. It is also, of course, possible to incorporate their own creativity and initiative into the process by letting them invent rod exercises of their own.
Suggested lesson content
Physical coordination
Spatial forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
The capacity for independence in the students increases again in grade eight: they contribute constructively to the choosing of pieces and are well-versed in various methods of working. Their judgments are still very much coloured by antipathy and sympathy, they look for the standpoint that will give them inner security and stability. Even when there are major fluctuations, they try to remain true to themselves and their strong need to achieve their own autonomy. They are often very critical, above all of the adults around them. Adolescents expect their teachers to take their searching and questioning seriously, to understand and affirm it. When they have the feeling that their opinion is valued, they set to work with much energy and enthusiasm.
In addition to the work in groups, it is possible to attempt short solo pieces. Adolescents are wont to be preoccupied with religious, ethical and philosophical topics. It is therefore very worthwhile to canvas their opinion in the choice of poems. With their growing powers of individual expression, they can be given their first roles in ballads and folk-tales.
In many schools the grade eight students give a eurythmy performance for {before} an invited audience to mark the end of their time in the middle school.
Warm-up exercises
The geometrical and rhythm exercises continue. They lead to more precise foot-work and form the basis for the introduction of the special foot positions. This is also where the special kind of walking required by eurythmy begins. All this has the effect of making it possible to take hold of the whole human gestalt in a more conscious way.
The rod exercises are continued. The students can work out variations and new combinations of familiar exercises on their own, and also invent totally new ones. Courage and trust, as two important attributes of the developing personality, are given a boost by exercises that involve throwing the rods.
As a warm-up exercise “I will, I cannot, I must do it” has proved its worth. The questions young people have about their own identity, which cannot normally be verbalised, are contained in this exercise in miniature.
Spatial forms
These are no longer tied to being geometrical but arranged more freely, usually with frontal orientation. The movement made by the whole group, for instance, in the transitions of the “transformation of the square” exercise, is an image of the process of seeking and finding one’s way within a community: the ordered movement within the square is followed by a phase of dissolution, individual pathways and then restoration of the form.
In tone-eurythmy the melody can provide the basis upon which the students devise their own spatial forms. In the tension between alternating major and minor passages the personal drama and feelings of young people find expression.
Gestures
The students are now capable of doing their own arrangements. In larger ballads and dramatic poems, the multi-faceted inner landscape of this age-group finds its counterpart. Upon discussing the characters and trying out their roles in various scenes, adolescents show themselves well able to apply their knowledge of speech- and soul-gestures and their associated foot and head positions, and thus to devise their own arrangements and perform them with confidence.
An important theme in tone-eurythmy is that of melody. As the “inner breath” of music, it forms the basis of the work. The tone and interval gestures, with which the students are already familiar, can be combined into a large-scale composition. Work on major and minor is now taken to the point of introducing the standard gestures.
Suggested lesson content
Warm-up exercises
Spatial forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
A central theme in this school year is taking a matter-of-fact look at the student’s own capacity for movement, which is built up systematically from first principles. In terms of the range of movements and the degree of independence expected of them, the students are now faced with new demands. The teacher’s job is to introduce them clearly and to ensure that they are met. Especially at this phase of puberty pedagogical lucidity and consistency are indispensable, mixed, of course, with a good helping of humour. In keeping with their age, the students’ social behaviour changes, both in relation to their teachers and to their classmates. The teachers now fill the role of experts delivering well-founded professional knowledge. Proper manners set the tone in the way lessons are conducted.
The basic elements of eurythmy are revisited and refreshed by being practised in a very conscious and matter-of-fact way.
Coordination / dexterity
The students are now in possession of an increasingly sharp faculty of judgment. Perception of their own quality of movement is not present to the same degree, however, and so this should be focused upon and developed through coordination exercises. This includes the students’ observing and describing each other’s work. The articulation and phenomenological description of movement should be painstakingly practised in reflective discussions. They will thereby be encouraged to carry out newly introduced movements with precision. Mutual feedback between students develops into an instrument which can give them a new basis for exploring and developing their own capacities for movement. Three-fold walking, coordination and concentration exercises serve this purpose well.
Spatial forms
Complex geometric forms are introduced. For example, familiar basic forms are newly explored in group work and many variations independently devised. Here increasingly forms are chosen in which the students have to hold their own within the context of the whole group.
With spatial forms in conjunction with music, the rhythm, melody and pitch are all arranged into a composite movement.
The students can formulate their impressions of their own efforts and these can then be incorporated into further work.
From among the familiar form-elements from the standard repertoire some can be taken and employed in short choreographies of their own.
Gestures
In the rod exercises various qualities of movement should be observed and consciously developed. From time to time wooden rods of different lengths can also be used.
Thematic connections to main lessons (especially humour, history and anatomy) are a suitable source of material.
The familiar speech-, soul- and dramatic gestures are revisited in a qualitatively new way and persistently practised with much variation and inner presence.
In tone-eurythmy the tone- and interval-gestures are studied and applied to pieces of music. Collections of variations are suitable here and the contrast-rich arrangement of musical harmonies (major, minor, dissonance). In this way the students establish a new connection between hearing and movement.
In this way they arrive at a new approach to eurythmy gestures and their creative application.
Suggested lesson content
Warm-up exercises
Spatial forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
The students show a new inner connection to the lesson material, and this means that they need to be addressed in a different way. Their increasing ability to express moods and other emotional states can be systematically trained and extended. This is also why the technique of anticipating movements in thought is introduced and practised. Many students can already take on substantial directorial tasks and give the class feedback. This puts the responsibility for what happens more and more in the students’ hands. This process should, however, be carefully introduced and monitored by the teacher.
In eurythmy precision is of the essence; in group work it is the mainstay of cooperation. Solos or short duets can also form part of the work.
Coordination and dexterity
With the growing degree of personal responsibility, coordination and concentration exercises take on a new meaning and demand a new approach. The fresh qualities run from increasing the precision of movements to working at achieving a unified flow. In all exercises the frontal way of moving can be altered by ninety degrees and varied accordingly.
Spatial forms
Large-scale spatial forms and complex arrangements school the capacity for spatial orientation and extend the repertoire of movements. By consciously seeing their own movements in relation to those of their classmates, the students attain a new level.
In tone-eurythmy spatial awareness can be extended by introducing the forms for certain cadences.
Gestures
Exercises with copper or wooden rods are continued with new variations, with a view to increased dexterity and conscious mastery. The uses of the basic eurythmy gestures are further explored. The students’ ability to shape gestures, especially the soul-gestures with their special head and foot positions, now attains a new “inwardness”. The speech- and tone-gestures are worked on singly and in groups. The students are now able to work with veils, which increase eurythmy’s expressive power and sensitise spatial awareness in a new way.
Suggested lesson content
Warm-up exercises
Spatial forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
At this age, the students are willing to take on new challenges in eurythmy. They display a growing command of the gestures and forms, which indicates that they have reached a new level of self-control, and this should be taken advantage of in the lessons. This ability makes it possible to contemplate solo projects, which are done by students working intensively in pairs on the interpretation of poems they have chosen. It involves their speaking the poems for each other. In the course of this whole process they go through all the phases of artistic production in eurythmy, from conception to planning to rehearsing and performance. This also gives them the opportunity to reflect upon and improve their own learning strategies, and thereby to school their power of expression and stage-presence.
The students show a keen interest in the way their classmates move; aspects of this they are quick to pick up and copy. Developing creativity and the ability to improvise in eurythmy is especially important. Out of this, large-scale choreographies may arise, in which whole classes can be involved.
Through the students’ increasing individualisation and powers of expression a wide spectrum of possible themes and approaches arises.
In all working with music and language style is of the essence. Romantic music offers a rich field of possibilities for the newly attained faculties of the students to find expression.
For this age-group exercises from the realm of social art are also appropriate. Here the subject of “leading” and “being led” can be experienced directly by the students, in working with partners or in groups.
Concentration / warming up
Suitable as concentration and coordination exercises are geometric transformations and dynamic movements in groups which intensify awareness of space and the movements of the other members of the group within it. Exercises involving their being led through the room with eyes closed can also be done.
Silent movement sequences involving arm movements in combination with steps are part of the process as well.
Spatial forms
New and more demanding circle forms and also forms which flow in different directions are ways in which this area of eurythmy can be further built up. In group choreographies movement sequences can be done with varying tempi and dynamics.
Gestures
The gestures (and forms) for colours can be introduced. Basic gestures for human soul-qualities (the “planetary archetypes”) can be studied in conjunction with those for the colours.
Suggested lesson content
Concentration / Warming up
Spatial forms
Gestures
Pieces done in speech- or tone-eurythmy
Methodological considerations
The pedagogical landscape
Grade twelve generally represents the culmination of school eurythmy. By now the students have arrived at a stage of development characterised by “inner autonomy and a capacity for objective judgment”. With the benefit of hindsight, they revisit all the things they know, reflectively setting them in context, and thus lifting them onto a new level of experience. In keeping with this, being occupied with the interpretation and stylistically appropriate arrangement of art works from various epochs is the main focus.
Besides the preparation of a stage performance, grade twelve eurythmy lessons can be concerned with some aspect of the class play, or with cross-disciplinary projects (in conjunction, for instance, with mother tongue literature, music, art or mathematics).
In order to make clear what eurythmy can do as a subject and a performing art the lessons and projects can be documented in writing, on film or photographically, and perhaps even through a written test.
The culmination of the whole process is normally marked by a grand performance, in which all the pieces deemed ready for performance are presented either to the general public or to an invited audience.
A full-scale piece of work in solo eurythmy can be done as a grade twelve project or as an individual learning achievement.
Qualitative aspects of the work on spatial forms and gestures
Achieving command of the movements is further pursued as an artistic goal. This serves the development of personal sovereignty in the shaping of movements, which is a schooling in self-observation within the process of artistic practice. The whole spectrum of previously learned methods is now available and permits an efficient, goal-directed cooperation between teacher and student. The young people now become capable of improvising with elements of eurythmy and putting their own creative ideas into effect. Here the development of the power of expression and stage presence is the main focus.
Verbal and musical phenomena are transformed into eurythmy gestures and choreographies and presented. The texts are from epic, lyric and dramatic sources and encompass, as do the tone-eurythmy pieces, all epochs of style.
These young adults are increasingly prepared to form their eurythmy gestures out of their own inner impulses and sensibilities, and in this way to create an artistic statement and present it to an audience.
Suggested lesson content
All exercises and works are chosen along the lines indicated above and in accordance with the abilities of the particular class.
The final performance can consist of group choreographies in addition to the students’ solos.
The following new elements can be added:
Bardt, S. (2010): Eurythmie als menschenbildende Kraft. Erfahrungen aus der pädagogischen Praxis. Stuttgart
Bardt, S./Bock, R. (et al.) (1982): Erziehung durch Eurythmie. Anregungen für Unterrichtende. Stuttgart
Bock, R. (2001ff.): Studien zur Menschenkunde des Eurythmieunterrichtes, Band 1–3. Stuttgart
Bock, R. (2006): Die Stabübungen Rudolf Steiners für die Eurythmie. Stuttgart
Brounts, T./Daniel, H. (2008): Bewegt ins Leben. Eurythmie in den Klassen 1–4. Stuttgart
Daniel, H. (2009): Übung macht den Meister. Eurythmie in den Klassen 5–8. Stuttgart
Daniel, H. (2015): Sein oder Nichtsein. Eurythmie in den Klassen 9–12. Stuttgart
Dubach-Donath, A. (1988): Grundelemente der Eurythmie. Dornach
Egner-Morell, M. (1985): Anregungen zur Gestaltung der eurythmischen Arbeit. Dornach
Haggmark, K. (2009): Eine kritische Reflexion der Fachliteratur zur pädagogischen Eurythmie in Hinblick auf die darin dargestellten Lernziele und Methoden.
Forschungsarbeit im Rahmen des MA-Studienganges an der Universität Plymouth, GB
Haggmark, K. (2013): Die Akzeptanz der pädagogischen Eurythmie in einer
Waldorfschule aus der Perspektive der Schüler, Eltern und Lehrer. Master-Arbeit an der University of Plymouth, GB
Hasler, S./Heinritz, C. (Hrsg.) (2014): Den eigenen Eurythmieunterricht erforschen. Stuttgart
Jaerschky, L. (1982): in Bardt, S./Bock, R. (et al.): Erziehung durch Eurythmie. Anregungen für Unterrichtende. Stuttgart
Jeuken, M. (2012): Der Buchstabentanz kann klaren Kopf machen. Zum Eurythmieunterricht an Waldorfschulen, in: Erziehungskunst (76. Jahrgang) 1/2012
Kirchner-Bockholt, M. (1969): Grundelemente der Heileurythmie. Dornach
Maldoom, R. (2011): Tanz um dein Leben. Frankfurt am Main
Siegloch, M. (1997): Eurythmie. Eine Einführung. Stuttgart
Steiner, R. (1990): Eurythmie als sichtbare Sprache. GA 279, Dornach
Steiner, R. (1992): Das Rätsel des Menschen. GA 170, Dornach
Steiner, R. (1998): Die Entstehung und Entwicklung der Eurythmie. GA 277a, Dornach
Steiner, R. (2000): Eurythmieformen zu Dichtungen Rudolf Steiners. GA K 23/1, Dornach
Steiner, R. (2015): Eurythmie als sichtbarer Gesang. GA 278, Dornach
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Zuccoli, E. (1997): Ton- und Lauteurythmie, Dornach