Introductions to Eurythmy

Introductions to eurythmy performances, 1913–1924 (CW 277a)

“It certainly is not our wish to compete in any way with any other form of dance and such that might superficially resemble what we are doing. We know very well that our contemporaries are able to offer something much more polished than what we can offer within our own specialized realm. But the point for us is not to present something that already exists in some other form. The point is to create a special form of art, called forth by movements of the human body, by the mutual movements and positioning of artists divided up into groups.” (Feb. 24, 1919)

This volume features introductory addresses given by Rudolf Steiner to the first audiences of the newly minted art of eurythmy. Before each eurythmy performance at which he was present, Steiner gave such an introduction. His intention, as he remarked on several occasions, was not to elucidate the meaning of eurythmy intellectually—a vain and inartistic endeavor—but rather to orient the audience to this new undertaking in the realm of art. Steiner took many approaches to this end, describing in his introductions a range of themes, from the origins of eurythmy as a Goethean art form to its role in pedagogy and therapy. As this volume gathers a large collection of these introductions, repetition is inevitable but not without value. A slight nuance of expression can awaken new insight.

From its inception, Steiner emphasized that eurythmy would be “a matter of the word, not [of dancing to] music.” Later, he called eurythmy “the art that has grown entirely from the soil of anthroposophy.” In these introductions, he stresses the connection of this new art form with Goethe’s concept of metamorphosis:

“We need only recall how it was that Goethe rose up to the idea that each individual organ of the plant should be viewed as a transformation of the other organs that manifest within the same plant.... If we permeate ourselves with the intuitive insights latent within this view of nature, then it is possible to transpose this insight into artistic feeling and artistic form. That is what our art of eurythmy has attempted to accomplish with regard to certain artistically formed movements of the human body itself. And our way of attaining that ideal is by here transposing into movement what Goethe initially intuited within the realm of form.” (Feb. 24, 1919)

This is just one of the many keys to unlocking the open secret of this new art form—inaugurated a century ago but still in its infancy—with applications in the fields of education and therapy. Given as they were to a broad range of audiences, these introductions speak to everyone interested in expanding the possibilities of artistic expression through the greatest instrument of all: the human being.

“Here nothing is a spontaneous expression; rather, everything has been submitted to an inner lawfulness...the heart of the matter is that everything subjective, everything arbitrary has been excluded from our art of eurythmy.” (Feb. 24, 1919)

This volume is a translation from German of Die Entstehung und Entwickelung der Eurythmie (GA 277a).