The Origin and Development of Eurythmy 1912–1918

GA 277a — 29 January 1912, Kassel

Notes on the Origin of Eurythmy

Compiled from: Lory Maier-Smits, “The Beginnings of Eurythmy”; “First Seeds of Eurythmy”; Notes from 1965; Rudolf Steiner, Notes

Since Rudolf Steiner had wanted to give me further tasks soon, my mother took me to Kassel at the end of January 1912 for a series of lectures, where we were given the promised tasks on January 29. During this meeting, he gave general instructions in preparation for the actual work. The introduction was strange. He looked at me very kindly and benevolently, but with a slight smile, and said: “Yes, now the little one has to learn all sorts of things, which she will then have to forget again!” – this is how Rudolf Steiner greeted my mother and me, and then I was immediately given my tasks, after which he drew up the following plan for what I was to learn:

“First of all, you should acquire sufficient knowledge of the human body with its bones, joints, muscles, and ligaments.” For this purpose, he recommended an anatomical atlas for visual artists, in which I found very beautiful illustrations, but only very sparse explanations. “If you would like to know more, including about the form and function of the internal organs, then get hold of the old Hyrtl, which is still very much alive.” [So I tried in my work] to recreate one joint after another—with all the muscles and ligaments—based on the drawings in the anatomical atlas for artists, and to experience and try all of this on my own body in order to gain a more conscious relationship with the physical body and its possibilities for movement.

Secondly, I was to try to look at Greek sculptures as much and as often as possible, whether originals, copies, or even just illustrations. “But only look, never try to imitate these positions.” So just looking and absorbing. I was also to search Greek literature for what had been written and recorded there about the art of dance.

Then Rudolf Steiner opened a book and pointed to an illustration of a figure with a strong Egyptian influence. It was Apollo or the Youth of Tenea, i.e., early archaic, but still strongly influenced by older, Egyptian ideas. The position of the feet was particularly Egyptian, that is, as Rudolf Steiner emphasized as the essential point: the weight of the body was carried evenly on both feet, completely earthbound. In this context, he called this complete earthbound nature “purely human,” and said that “if another impulse had not seized man, he would have had to stand and develop in the same place on earth like a plant. But then this other impulse seizes him and makes him revolt against this earthbound nature.”

Here Rudolf Steiner showed a second, now entirely Greek figure. This was Praxiteles' Apollo Sauroktonos, the lizard killer. He drew attention to how this other impulse had taken hold of the figure, and how the rear foot, by “revolting against its earthbound nature,” had freed itself from gravity to such an extent that its entire weight had shifted to the other foot, while it itself was now able to move freely. " There you have the famous Greek supporting leg, which, however, was created by the activity of the other foot and now enables man to move it freely without being bound to the earth.“ After a short pause, he said with a smile: ”You see, not even in space is a ‘step forward’ possible without Lucifer. For this other impulse is a Luciferic one, but here it is fully justified."

The [second] task, viewing Greek works of art, gave rise to a completely different experience, especially when I was able to look at real sculptures, not just pictures. In the presence of this divine beauty—experiencing calm and yet flowing movement within it—I felt my own bodily organization in a new, different way. The feeling of being allowed, of being wanted by God, to be at home in my own body lit up. [...] Was it a delicate, as yet unrecognized feeling of my own ethereal body in the presence of these works of art from the time of the most beautiful, most harmonious emotion and penetration of the physical body?"

Then came speech exercises. "Form sentences that contain only one vowel, for example: Barbara sat straight on the slope. Say these aloud and observe the movements and dynamics in your throat, and then dance that. That's what he said!“ Seeing my rather stunned expression, he repeated the sentence with strong emphasis: ”Barbara sat straight on the slope," took a sheet of paper, wrote down the sentence, and drew the curve, characterizing each syllable:

“Bar - that's a jerk upwards; ba and ra- are formed, less moving sounds; sat — there it stretches further in the upper plane; straight — is another jerk, but this time falling downwards; and the last three syllables — on the slope — are soft, wave-like movements or impulses.”

As an example, he wrote and spoke: “Barbara sat straight on the slope.” He drew the line above the sentence while repeating it again, syllable by syllable, with strong emphasis and modulating the a. Bar is a jerk upwards, a short a; “bara sat” are three long sounds, especially the third is strongly stretched, all three stretch in one plane; straight is another jerk, but this time downwards; on the slope are three wave-like movements. I should form other sentences with other vowels myself. So I tried to express all these mainly dynamic experiences, which I had when speaking this sentence and later formed myself, by walking, jumping, hopping, sliding, but mainly with my legs. Only delicately hinting at the direction upwards or straight ahead or downwards, the whole body and also the arms joined in.

He also gave me a book by Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, De philosophia occulta. In it, I would find six drawings in which the human form was arranged into various geometric figures. I was to study these six positions carefully, and once I had practiced them well, I was to jump quickly and easily from one to the other, paying particular attention to the relationship between the movements of the arms and legs, whether they moved parallel or against each other. Everything else in these drawings, such as planets and signs of the zodiac, did not need to be taken into account.

In wonderful octave to these things, which apparently “should be forgotten,” he gave the following as the last exercise in the great eurythmy course in 1924: “I think the speech.” Except for a small change in the order, geometric figures appear here again, but how meaningful, expressive, and adapted to modern consciousness the positions are through the short sentences provided.

And then I was to learn to write with my feet. Legibly, with a pen or chalk between my toes, so that I could look at what I had written afterwards and check the intensity of the stroke, whether it was an upstroke or a downstroke, and the shape of the letters. However, the left foot should write in mirror writing, as this is more organic and natural for the left side. This should be practiced and done “in order to develop a correct and differentiated relationship to the earth and fine, intimate foot movements.”

This gives you a very fine feeling in your feet and teaches you to make intimate, differentiated foot movements."

Here I was taught like a child. The child was given the task, had to practice, practice again and again (this preparatory work took a good six months), and, as it were, abilities were awakened beneath the surface that had not been clearly conscious for a long time, but could become second nature, so to speak. The fact that this “up or down, this stretching or undulating” was created by the interplay of vowels and consonants was something that had to be experienced and done, not just known. It was certainly better done as long as the head could not interfere and one only had to ask the heart again and again: What are you actually feeling?

Finally, Rudolf Steiner drew shapes for two round dances, which we were to set to some suitable music. In the first, up to seven large figures were to walk solemnly in a circle, surrounded and accompanied by a smaller figure. We later called this round dance “Archangels and Angels” and found a very beautiful prelude by Bach to accompany it.

In the second dance, two or more lemniscates, lying on top of each other and crossing in the middle, were to be run with the nose. Two people were to move on each lemniscate, and “so that there would be no jostling and confusion in the middle, the individual lemniscates would have to start slightly behind each other so that only two people would meet at the intersection at any one time.”

The second drawing showed two superimposed figure eights rotated 90 degrees around each other, which were to be walked by several people at the same time. "But you have to be careful to pass each other easily in the middle. You have to start a little bit after each other so that only two are in the middle at a time.“

Both ”round dances“ found their explanation six months later, the first as the masculine form and the feminine form, ”in praise of the gods.“ The second as the neuter form, expressing ”the feelings of all humanity."

That was the work program. To continue the tasks we had been given, Rudolf Steiner suggested that we come to the rehearsals for the annual mystery plays in Munich in July to receive further instruction. The preparation period lasted exactly six months, during which I worked on the tasks assigned to me as best I could.