The Constitution of the General Anthroposophical Society
GA 260a — 8 June 1924
The Position of Eurythmy in the Anthroposophical Society
From mid-May to mid-June, Marie Steiner and the eurythmists of the Goetheanum went on a eurythmy tour through the cities of Ulm, Nuremberg, Eisenach, Erfurt, Naumburg, Hildesheim, Hanover, Halle, and Breslau. The news I receive here at the Goetheanum about this tour speaks of a deep interest on the part of a relatively large audience in the art that has emerged from the anthroposophical movement. The fact that here and there a few troublemakers are causing discord in this otherwise satisfying reception cannot surprise anyone who knows the resistance that anything new and unfamiliar must always face in all areas of life.
One would expect the Anthroposophical Society to show full support for the endeavors that are at work in the art of eurythmy. For only through such support can the warmth be maintained that is necessary for those who devote themselves to such endeavors.
Not everyone within the Anthroposophical Society is aware of the foundations on which such endeavors are built. At the Goetheanum, under the direction of Marie Steiner, work continues unabated when the eurythmists are not traveling, in order to complete the preliminary exercises for the performances. This work requires great dedication on the part of all those involved. And it is not always apparent from the outside how arduous it is for artists to make tiring journeys from city to city, how exhausting it is to develop an artistic mood during these tiring journeys. In order to succeed in such endeavors under the given circumstances, a great deal of dedication and pure enthusiasm for the cause is necessary. Eurythmy as an art form is a fruit of the spiritual impulses at work in the anthroposophical movement. What lives in the human organism as soul and spirit is revealed through it in a perceptible way. Its effect on the audience is based on the feeling that soul and spirit unfold in direct perception in the outwardly visible movements of individuals and groups of people. In a sense, one has the human soul being before one's eyes.
And the recitative and musical arts resonate in this striking revelation of the human soul being. It can be said that the art of recitation experiences the conditions of its essence in eurythmic endeavors. It is, after all, primarily bound to the word. But the word is easily tempted to stray from the artistic. It wants to be an expression of the content of the intellect and feelings. However, only the shaping of this content can be artistically effective. When recitation enters the realm of eurythmic art of movement, it must unfold its creative character in all its purity. It must reveal what can be expressed through language in a pictorial and musical way. It was therefore necessary for eurythmy to develop the art of recitation in the way that Marie Steiner's dedication to this part of the anthroposophical movement made possible. Within the Anthroposophical Society, one should follow what has developed since Marie Steiner began her work with a few eurythmists in Berlin in 1914. Eurythmy could only unfold as a visible art of speech alongside the artistically grasped, audible art of speech. Only those who have an artistic grasp of what lies in the audible word can develop the right sense of how the audible is transformed into the visible in eurythmy. The public can only be interested in what ultimately emerges as artistic value. The members of the Anthroposophical Society can take an intimate interest in the development of such an endeavor. For this is part of anthroposophical life.
In such an interest, the noblest humanity will be able to develop. And in its development lies one of the most distinguished tasks of the Anthroposophical Society.
Our musicians, who place their artistic talents at the service of eurythmy, are, in my conviction, taking music forward in a very unique direction through the way they do this and through the great enthusiasm that inspires them, especially in collaboration with related arts. I believe that the musical sense that lives in them finds its true liberation precisely in being placed in this context. In any case, the activities of our musicians within the framework of eurythmic work give rise to a deeply satisfying expansion of the musical into the general artistic. And this shows its fruitfulness again in its beautiful repercussions on the specifically musical.
Marie Steiner's efforts for eurythmy gave rise to the Eurythmeum in Stuttgart. The idea of a eurythmic conservatory forms the basis. Eurythmy in all its branches is taught. The auxiliary subjects, poetics, aesthetics, art history, musicology, and so on are presented. All of this is taught from an artistic perspective in the light in which eurythmy must be viewed. What has been created in this way in Stuttgart carries within it many possibilities for further development.
All such endeavors struggle with the most difficult external conditions for existence. For we are a very poor society. One often has the feeling that so much more could be done if we did not have to struggle so hard in this direction.
We recently held a conference to discuss the curriculum of the Stuttgart Eurythmeum. The participants in this conference were struck by artistic possibilities of far-reaching significance.
It is deeply satisfying to see how many members of our society are devoting themselves with the warmest sympathy to the promotion of eurythmic endeavors. This sympathy is growing in a gratifying way. This has brought a new element into our movement that is very much part of its living conditions. For art stands midway between the revelations of the sensory world and spiritual reality. Anthroposophy wants to place the spiritual world before human beings. Art is the reflection of the spirit in the sensory world. If it did not thrive on anthroposophical ground, this could only be due to a deficiency in that ground itself. Recently, this has been increasingly recognized in anthroposophical circles; hopefully, such insights will continue to mature.