FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is Eurythmy
Eurythmy is a movement art that expresses music and speech in visual form. It was developed by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861 - 1925) in collaboration with Marie von Sivers in the early part of the 20th Century.
In addition to being a performance art, Eurythmy is used educationally and therapeutically.
How Eurythmy Began
Eurythmy was conceived and brought into being by the Austrian scientist and philosopher Dr. Rudolf Steiner in the beginning of the 20 Century. He had a keen interest in the arts as well as working tirelessly to bring a Western approach to spirituality and human development to the world at a time where most spiritual streams where coming to the west from the east. He named his philosophy Anthroposophy, which means wisdom of the human being. In 1912 he had a conversation with the mother of an 18-year old girl who loved movement and was needing to find a career for herself. Her mother spoke of gymnastics, but Rudolf Steiner advised against this and offered to give the girl, Lori Smits, instructions in a new form of movement, which was later to be named Eurythmy.
Why do Eurythmy?
Eurythmy is a unique and versatile movement art, which, as you can see on this site, finds its expression in the world in different capacities. It started out as a performance art and in this way Eurythmy is a way of exploring artistic movement. It can be called ‘dance with meaning’ and through doing eurythmy you can deepen your understanding and appreciation of poetry and music and how you can make these visible in movement through using your entire body as your instrument. In this way you constantly have to sensitize and fine-tune your movements and ability to enter into the mood of a poem or piece of music to be able to stay true to the artistic expressions of the poets and composers whose pieces you are working with.