Eurythmy the Word and Music in Movement
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Eurythmy The Word and Music in Movement The time is at hand! Dance to the Rhythms of Life! 100Ye a r s Celebration 1912 – 2012 Come and join us 8 –10 June 2012 Workshops • Demonstrations Lectures • Performances Constantia Waldorf School [email protected] Starts at 18.30! 021 797 6802 Dance to the Rhythms of Life We are delighted to celebrate a 100 years of Eurythmy. We believe this art of movement, which integrates Spirit with Matter, is able to contribute in the deepest possible sense towards the healthful con- tinuation of Universal Man. 2 100Ye a r s Celebration Programme The Time is at Hand! Free Entrance (donations welcome). Refreshments available on sale. Friday, 8th June Saturday, 9th June Sunday, 10th June 18.30 Welcome 09.00 Eurythmy ‘Prelude’ 09.00 Workshops ‘Eurythmy 1912 – 2012’ 09.30 Natalia Baker 10.15 Michael Merle and Alex Boraine: ‘Well-being in our Time’ ‘Eurythmy and the ‘A question of Identity’ 10.30 Tea six-fold Path’ 19.30 Eurythmy Performance 11.00 Workshops 11.00 Tea ‘The Time is at Hand!’ 12.30 Lunch 11.30 Eurythmy Performance Man’s Journey through 14.00 Children's Eurythmy ‘The Time is at Hand!’ the Epochs of Time Performance Man’s Journey through Interval 15.30 Tea the Epochs of Time Cello Concerto by A. Dvorák 16.00 Demonstration of Interval arranged for Piano, Flute Tone & Speech Eurythmy Cello Concerto by and Cello 17.15 Michael Merle: A. Dvorák ‘Man as a Being of the Word’ arranged for Piano, Guest Speakers: 18.15 Supper Flute and Cello Alex Boraine 19.30 Eurythmy Performance 13.30 Close Natalia Baker A Bouquet of Speech and Music Pieces – Various Artists Michael Merle Eurythmy100 years Cello `Concerto’ by Antonin Dvorák op 104 for Piano and Cello This concerto comprises three movements. The first, being dramatic, is a journey of wrestling and overcoming. The second takes one into a melodious and inward realm, while the third expresses overall liveliness and joy. Throughout this composition the musical themes appear in ever changing forms, yet remain recognizable in their essence. It is interesting to note how through all three movements, the original theme or fragments thereof occur in changed ways, creating a path of transformation. Similarly we can observe developments and metamorpho- ses in nature, for example from a seed to the full plant and a new seed. Equally so, in human lives and biographies and even through the ages a certain essence and signa- ture is carried through the various transformations. Eurythmy has the capacity to work with these metamor- phoses and can make the experienced changes visible. One can hear and see in this Dvorák piece the musical theme which can be understood like a ‘Being’ embark- ing on a journey: first as a tentative statement then going through dramatic and turbulent times; resistances and overcoming them; then new challenges; acquiring stillness and calm-melodic contemplativeness and right through to a joyous exploration and even victorious glory! We as human beings can take reassurance, courage and hope from such a journey of transformation. Silke Sponheuer 4 4 Cello `Concerto’ by Antonin Dvorák op 104 for Piano and Cello Rehearsal 3rd of May 2012 5 The Time is at Hand! Man’s Journey through the Epochs of Time Universal Man is experiencing Apocalyptic times. It is of the utmost importance to become responsible and awake to the call of our Age: ‘Human Souls! The time is at hand! The battle wages for the Soul of Man. You have the power to choose Darkness or Light. Which is it to be? Through movement, sound and the word, and based on Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual scientific insights into the evolutionary development of the human being through the millennia, we explore this question from ‘The Begin- ning’ to ‘Now’ – our present time. Through the journey we discover how the creative power of the ‘Logos’ permeates each step of the develop- ment of Self and community, leading us through the elements of Light and Darkness on our quest for the healthful continuation of Mankind. Michelle Kaplan Rehearsal 3rd of May 2012 6 “Sounding the Logos” – The Word and Music in Movement Can I expand my soul to unite with the Cosmic Word now conceived as seed? I sense that I must find the force to fashion my own soul as a worthy garment for the spirit. Rudolf Steiner 7 Annemarie Dubach Else Klink The First Goetheanum Marie Lory Smits Marie Steiner Savitch History Eurythmy was born in 1912 when a widow requested the advice of Rudolf Steiner for her young daughter, Lory Smits, who was interested in movement and dance. Due to the recent loss of her father, it was necessary for the girl to find a career. Steiner suggested that Lory 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 spoken sentences using the sounds of speech. Soon a number of other young people became interested in this form of expressive movement. Marie Steiner, a trained actress and speech artist, was given responsibility for training and directing the group. This first eurythmy ensemble went on tour in 1919, performing across Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany. Key figures responsible for developing Eurythmy Training in South Africa have been, among others, Hendrika Hollenbach, Liselotte Maurer, Ilse Kimble, Cecilia Beckenstein, Sigrid Quednau, Beverly Hart, Ursula Zimmermann, Silke Sponheuer and Michelle Kaplan. Eurythmy ensembles now perform worldwide, from adult professionals presenting full symphonies, to high school groups sharing their enthusiasm and sense of wonder for the unique potentials of this art form. Eurythmy is a key component in the curriculum of waldorf schools and there are possibilities for incorporating it into some state schools. It has also developed applications as a therapy and a means for social and corporate development. 8 Rudolf Steiner (1861 - 1925) Rudolf Steiner’s life as a prolific scientist, philosopher, author and lecturer spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries during which he developed Anthroposophy as a «science of the spirit.». This offers a journey of individual spiritual development and encompasses a vast perspective of human evolution. From Rudolf Steiner's response to requests emerged Waldorf Education, Biodynamic Agriculture, Camphill Curative Homes & Villages, Anthroposophical Medicine (including Hauschka and Weleda products) and deeper perspectives on all the Arts: Architecture, Eurythmy, Music, Painting, Speech and Drama and Personal, Organisational and Social Development. The development of all these impulses continues as an inspiration in today's cultural life. "Man is a form proceeding out of movement. Eurythmy is a continuation of divine movement, of the divine form in man. By means of Eurythmy man approaches nearer the divine than he otherwise could." Rudolph Steiner 9 Kairos is the Greek God who embodies "the fulfilled moment in time." Our vision of training and performance embodies this stream of time, bearing the ever moving qualities of past, present and future. 10 Kairos Eurythmy Training & Dance Company – Centre for Creative Education, Cape Town, South Africa Eurythmy is the dynamic new art of movement that makes the sounds of speech, and the elements of music visible. It teaches absolute awareness of being, and body language. It is an expression of energy in motion, which comes to life through poetry, prose, dramatic works and music. Eurythmy works on a deep level with our emotions. It stimulates the Body, Mind and Spirit, enabling us to meet the challenges of modern life. In this way Eurythmy is not only a performing art and educational tool, but also a therapy. Graduates can further their careers on stage, in the classrooms, in business, com- munity work or in a healing capacity. The Kairos Eurythmy Training offers a BA Degree Course full time or part time. Workshops are also on offer for all age groups wishing to develop their individual and social skills. – Michelle Kaplan and Silke Sponheuer (Department Head) "Bring your creative and dynamic self to full expression." Dance to the Rhythms of Life 11 "The art of Eurythmy could only grow up out of the soul of Anthroposophy." ∫ "Anthroposophia – the wisdom of the human being" Rudolf Steiner, 12 Eurythmy as an "art of the soul" 13 "Eurythmy uses as its instrument the human body in motion." Rudolf Steiner 14 In the cycles of life – in nature, humanity and the cosmos – the existence of dualities, of centre and periphery, microcosm and macrocosm, remain constantly before us. Through Eurythmy movements and gestures we seek to bring about a unity of such polarities and ever consciously enliven and renew the creative processes of life. 15 "Eurythmy has arisen out of the very nature of our age and out of its fundamental needs." — Rudolf Steiner Eurythmy as a performance art Therapeutic Eurythmy Social Eurythmy Educational Eurythmy 16 Dance to the Rhythms of Life "Eurythmy reveals the deeper origins of life through the embodiment of the spiritual forces that live within human speaking and singing" Eurythmy Spring Valley, USA 17 Eurythmy as a performance art Seeing what you hear Through silent movement and gesture, performance eurythmy reveals the heart and structure of poems, prose and musical compositions performed live. The qualities unique to a ‘P’ or an ‘Ah’, for instance; the musical tone of an E flat or the interval of a seventh – these the eurythmist ‘sculpts’ visibly in space to reveal the flow of audible sound intime . Moods and colours are also conveyed through movement and gesture, even more intensely when performed in total silence.