Eurythmy With Jonathan Snow - New Bloc

Eurythmy for Adults Continues:

Open to all. The adult eurythmy group will start a new six week bloc, and we would be glad to have eurythmy enthusiasts join us. Starting April the 10th, the course will be held every Saturday from 4:15 to 5:15 pm in the TWS eurythmy room. No previous experience necessary. For registration or more information, write to jsnow@torontowaldorfschool.com .

Jonathan Snow

Can We Build A Canadian Tour?

- Photo by R. Manacas

Christina Viebke-Wallace writes:

I have just recently returned to Nelson, British Columbia after four years of teaching in South Africa. It strikes me that there seem to be a lot more eurythmists living in Canada than there were when I left, and it seems about time that we did something together in the mood of the New World Symphony project. Please contact me if you are interested in discussing this!

Thanks, Christina

Dorothea Mier and Emmanuel Vukovich at Novalis Hall

The Music of Bach: a performance/workshop featuring eurythmist, Dorothea Mier, and violinist, Emmanuel Vukovich. Sunday, May 2, 2010, 11.00 am at Novalis Hall (Camphill Angus ON)

Eurythmy was developed by Rudolf Steiner in the early part of the twentieth century. He believed that all art is the revelation of concealed laws of nature and gave the world this art of movement as a means of bringing expressive elements in music and poetry into visible form through the finely tuned instrument of the human body. This collaboration between Dorothea Mier and Emmanuel Vukovich is a wonder in itself arising as it does out of their individual dedication to the music of Bach. They will share the process of their working together in the course of this performance. Come prepared to be touched in a part of the soul where you have never been touched before!

Dorothea Mier attended Waldorf Schools in England in her formative years. Having graduated from Michael Hall School, she studied piano at the Birmingham School of Music. Residing in Dornach, Switzerland, from 1955-1980, she worked as a member of the Goetheanum Stage Group and was renowned as a teacher of eurythmy. She became the director of the Spring Valley Eurythmy School in New York State in 1980, a position she held for over twenty years. Now retired, she is free to conduct workshops worldwide.

Of Croatian and German descent and a native of Calgary, Emmanuel Vukovich graduated from McGill University in 2007 in music and environmental studies. He was leader of the Lloyd Carr-Harris String Quartet which won several national and international awards. Awarded the Canada Council for the Arts Orford String Quartet Scholarship in 2005, he became the first recipient of McGill University's Schulich School of Music Golden Violin Award in 2006. Emmanuel co-founded Music for Farms in 2008, a movement he promotes in his concerts for Community Supported Agriculture farms in Quebec, Ontario and in New York State and in his daily working life as a biodynamic farmer in Quebec.

The performance is part of an all-day Music For Farms event. You are welcome to attend part or all of the programme. For schedule and donation details, please contact Treasa O`Driscoll.

NOTE TO EURYTHMISTS: If you would be interested in participating in a workshop with Dorothea at the Toronto Waldorf School, please contact Angelika Warner or Jonathan Snow. (The workshop has not yet been confirmed.)

On The Wings Of The Arts

Thursday, February 18, 7:30pm at the Toronto Waldorf School

Witness "moving" pieces of High School Performance Arts at this annual event.

+ Senior Eurythmy Group - led by Jonathan Snow

+ Performing Arts Strings and Winds Groups - led by Tony Browning

+ Performing Arts Choir and Ensemble - led by Patricia Mac Master

For details, call the school at 905-881-1611

Sessions in Barrie With Mary Brian

Mary Brian is giving a hygienic eurythmy class on Monday mornings, 10-11am., in February and March, at Natura Medical Arts Centre, 105 Toronto St., Barrie. The class is on a drop-in basis, and is aimed at relaxing, refreshing, and increasing flexibility. Cost is $15/class and if someone wants to come, I appreciate a phone call ahead at 705-739-4114, ext.#2. Thanks! Mary Brian

Correction and Update from Marjorie Taliano-Nordas

In an earlier post, I wrote that Marjorie was the Director of the Eurythmy School in Oslo. In fact, Coralee Schmandt is the Director. My apologies. The good news is that Coralee Schmandt is also a Canadian! Here is an update from Marjorie...

We've been and are practicing the Foundation Stone with Dorothea Mier who was visiting Oslo. I am now going to Dornach for another European project with 12 eurythmists. As well, I teach fulltime, from kindergarten to tenth grade; also teachers and parents...and I play flute! I will try to come to Montreal in May for a visit...

Right now it is clearer light everyday, snowy and frosty but not as cold as Canada and the darkness is lightening up everyday a little more.

Public Eurythmy Courses In Toronto Area

To my amazement, several people have been (re-) discovering eurythmy via this blog. It's surprising how many people know something about eurythmy, and are keen to take courses. The eurythmists in the area are starting to respond. Here is the notice of an upcoming course...

Jonathan Snow is offering adult eurythmy classes from 4:15 - 5:15pm on Saturday afternoons starting January 16 in the eurythmy room at the Toronto Waldorf School. No previous experience necessary. Fee for the 6-lesson course is $75.

PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND SPREAD THE WORD!

For questions and registration, contact Jonathan.

Arbor Vitae Project In Ottawa

Sylvie Richard has recently completed her eurythmy training in Spring Valley, and she is not letting grass grow under her feet in Ottawa. She is already giving public performances of tone eurythmy and leading adult workshops - in English and in French! Of particular interest is the Arbor Vitae project...

I have prepared an artistic project called ARBOR VITAE project which I am promoting for the Waldorf schools and eventually for any group of children as well as to adult groups interested in participating in this artistic production. As the tittle alludes to, I use the very rich stories and images, poetry and music that exist around this reality of the Tree of Life. This is meant to be a co-creation with my participants so already the children in grade 6-7 at the Ottawa Waldorf School have created their own short poems about trees directed by their teacher in their exploration of the four elements (earth, water, air, fire) which we will be weaving into the fabric of the production. The format of work is in block of 4 weeks (ideally 3x/week), and we will have 4 phases in the project. Phase 1 is to work on skills which will allow the participants to be sufficiently comfortable with eurythmy gestures and forms. Time will be used as needed toward this goal- depending on the group. Since it is a co-creation I am very interested in the creative unfolding that will emerge through the different phases of the project. Some of my own artistic work solo will be weaved as well in the final production, so that one will be able to experience a multi-level of artistic capacities.I believe very deeply in the artistic capacities that live in the human being, and that is so very alive and mobile in children. We have started this week at the OWS with the grade4-5 and 6-7 classes and it is already full of promises!

Performance Makes Strong Impressions

"...And there are those like you and me and many many others
Who can never forget the Man with the Broken Fingers.
His will, his pride as a free man, shall go on.
His shadow moves and his sacred fingers speak...."

The Remembrance Day program by Grasshopper Productions at the Toronto Waldorf School left very strong impressions on the audience. The Carl Sandburg piece, "The Man With The Broken Fingers" was especially powerful. In this post, I am restating (largely in my own words) some of the comments I have heard from high school eurythmy students. I have also invited other audience members to submit their own articles...MM

"Not bad.." This was meant as a compliment - the performance was actually very interesting to him. "Edgy...surprising...shocking..." It seems that the students were gripped, and they really felt engaged with what was happening on the stage. The eurythmy was not just happening "out there", but "in here". They used words like "weight...grounded...immediate...," and seemed surprised when they remembered they were talking about eurythmy.

There has been some discussion about the relationship between eurythmy and drama. It was very effective when the speaker very ceremoniously put on the boots, and began the Gestapo investigation. But when the costumes are so realistic, is it still eurythmy? Does the speech take over? Do we lose the power of eurythmy, and enter a realm of purely physical drama? Does it matter?

The students appreciated the artistic sequence. The Levertov pieces, which opened and closed the program, involved a rhythmical interplay of different elements, and provided a balance to the more visceral parts of the program. One student felt that the eurythmists somehow managed to maintain a spiritual quality while entering a very physical realm.

I have heard very little about the tone pieces...perhaps this is slowly working on a deeper level...

I asked, "if we showed the piece on YouTube, would people have a similar experience?."

They replied (in so many words), "No."

Youth Movement - Part Two

This summer, at the Whitehorse Conference, I enjoyed a performance evening by Marjorie Taliano-Nordas. Marjorie spoke with affection and gratitude about her first eurythmy lessons with Christa Kuehn in Montreal. She is now the Director of the Eurythmy School in Oslo, and feels an enduring relationship to Canada.

Lori Scotchko, also from Canada, is currently studying at the Oslo school, and has promised an article about her experiences at this excellent school. I have also heard recently from Marie-Eve Piche, who is studying in Spring Valley. (Marc-Antoine Brodeur is studying in the UK, and you can see his earlier post here.)

It's wonderful that they are using the Internet (email and blog postings) to reach out. Although each of us often feels isolated, it's inspiring to re-discover tha we are part of an international community. We have so much to learn from each other, and this is a great way to start.

Grasshopper Productions - Ontario Tour

Program at Toronto Waldorf School -Wednesday, November 11, 2009
For details, call the School at 905-881-1611

11am - High School Performance of No More Lies . Reflections on War. This program features eurythmy to poetry (including Two Threnodies and a Psalm by Denise Levertov, Dolce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, and The Man With The Broken Fingers by Carl Sandburg) and music (including Intermezzo in A Minor by Johannes Brahms, and Prelude/Wartime by Gregor Simon-McDonald).

2pm - Lower School Performance of The Wild Geese, a story from Lapland.

Tickets will be sold at the door: adults $10, students $5. All are welcome.

Program at Novalis Hall, Camphill Nottawasaga on Friday November 13
For details, contact Treasa O'Driscoll

Practical Things Like Stories and Eurythmy

Grasshopper Productions will soon be presenting a Fairy Tale in eurythmy at the Toronto Waldorf School, and Jonathan Snow wrote this piece for parents in the school newsletter as a general introduction. - MM

Fairytales have been used from the dawn of mankind to convey wisdom to new generations of listeners. Raised to the status of "Volksgut" - cultural heritage of a people - by the scientific endeavours of men like the Grimm brothers during the Romantic era, they became used to convey moral lessons to children. A century later, modern psychology revisited tales and myths, using them as maps of the forces at work in the human psyche, most of which remain largely hidden from our waking consciousness. C.G. Jung argued that each of the different characters in these stories represented archetypal forces active within the soul of a single person. Rudolf Steiner indicated that the characters in fairytales may be direct representations of invisible but very concrete forces, which we can call spiritual beings, which are represented using imagery from the world perceptible to our everyday consciousness. In any case, we have slowly rediscovered that fairytales are not mere childish trifles, but are vehicles of great wisdom from which we as adults can profit.

Eurythmy, which strives to make visible that which normally remains hidden, is a medium of choice for conveying the many sheaths of a fairytale to an audience. It easily frees itself from representational realism, where clothing, mannerisms, etc. of a specific culture are reproduced as accurately and authentically as possible. Rather, eurythmy gives itself the task of conveying an accurate picture of the deeper truths embedded as seeds in works of art. To do this, it uses different qualities of movement and colours (in costumes and lighting), to show visual archetypes and create various moods, and thus speaks a language that reaches us beyond our intellectual comprehension.

The spoken word as conveyer of wisdom is not limited to a role of preserving past tradition. Poetic endeavours in all times seek to capture the essence of our world - visible and invisible - as the poet in all his modernity perceives it. Again, in poetry as in fairytales, we have a language that addresses far more than the human intellect. That which a text wishes to convey may be amplified by eurythmy using the same means as for fairytales. And, whereas fairytales offer us a plot to hold on to, poetry may leave us with no such anchor. So for those of us who have difficulty finding the entrance into modern lyrical art, eurythmy can serve as a kind of subtitles for the messages between the lines.

More on Renate Krause

On October 6, Renate Krause decided that she had recovered sufficiently from an operation to resume her eurythmy work, and she opened our study group with a stimulating group eurythmy exercise. We were putting away chairs at the end of the meeting, when somehow she fell in a corner, with the result that her arm was broken. She has been in considerable pain, but she has recovered sufficiently to return home, and she is able to drive when she needs to. It's quite incredible how undaunted she seems by these difficult trials...

Feeling Our Feet

Here is an excerpt from an interesting review of a book about barefoot running in The Toronto Star. The author has done extensive research and learned that athletic shoes are doing more harm than good, and says we should be paying much more attention to natural foot movements...

"LEONARDO DA VINCI observed that the human foot is 'a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.'

Each foot/ankle combo contains 26 bones (both sides comprise one-quarter of the bones of the human body), 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. Thousands of nerve endings also make our feet extremely sensitive – one of the reasons torturers throughout history have whipped the soles of prisoners' feet.

It's amazing that our feet can sustain the constant shock of walking, let alone running. Especially since, according to some scientists, we've been wrecking our feet. Our shoes, whether stilettos or cushioned, spring-loaded, gel-padded, air-bubble-infused sneakers, make us walk in a way that is not natural for our feet, studies say.

Watch a baby take those first steps. There's a natural way we all walk, with short strides, landing softly on our heels or the balls of our feet before our toes spring us forward.
Now walk in your best running shoes. You'll likely take longer strides and, due to the padding in the heels, strike down harder, unable to roll to the side because of the thick sole and inflexibility of the shoe. This rigid base also stops your toes from springing you forward, so your legs have to work harder.

We're also not feeling what's really going on with our feet. High shock-absorbing footwear prohibits our sensitive plantar surface from sending pain and pressure impulses that would naturally allow us to alter our gait to reduce stress.

"There's a benefit to barefoot running, I really think there is, no doubt," says Dr. Jack Taunton, the chief medical officer for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Taunton, director of the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre at the University of British Columbia, has conducted studies on injured runners and basketball players that show with less support, the body heals faster. The foot and ankle are forced to build muscles that support the ailing area.
It's just the old adage, he says: 'If you don't use it, you lose it.'"

Introducing Pascal Jouneau

Bonjour,
Je suis Pascal JOUNEAU, (formé à l'école de La haye en Hollande/ PaysBas) eurythmiste au Québec dans les deux écoles:
* Les enfants de la terre à Waterville près de Scherbrooke et
* L'Eau Vive à Victoriaville.

Je suis aussi eurythmiste Thérapeute formé en Suisse.

"I am Pascal Jouneau. I did my training in The Hague, and am now working in Quebec. I am teaching eurythmy in two schools: Les enfants de la terre in Waterville near Sherbrooke
and L'Eau Vive in Victoriaville. I am also a therapeutic eurythmist trained in Switzerland."

Eurythmy Association UK

Stories and information about eurythmy in the United Kingdom are available at their website. You can also find a copy of their current newsletter on the site.

Youth Movement

Marc-Antoine Brodeur is studying eurythmy in UK, and hopes to return to Canada when he's finished. Here is his report about a recent practicum...MM

Teenagers and Dissonance in Oslo

I arrived in Oslo, Norway just after a few days of deep snowfall and so the city was beautifully white and rounded. The land of alliteration met me with icy clearness. I was coming from Botton Village in green England, in my third year of eurythmy training, and about to plunge into ten days of teaching practice. My mentor Tatiana Magnussen, a Russian pianist turned eurythmist, was most inspiring to watch with the children. She had a solid strength about her and warm eyes that met them all with joy. The different moods she was able to create from kindergarten to the tenth grade demonstrated not only her understanding of the needs of the growing child but also her capacity to translate these soul and body needs through music and poetry into living expression. The children and teenagers loved it. She was also very respected by her colleagues.

Teenagers and dissonance

During my time in Asker Steiner school, Tatiana asked me to introduce the tenth grade to the worlds of major, minor and dissonance. She suggested I use 'The Death of Ase' from the Peer Gynt Suite (op.46) by Edward Grieg. This slow piece in 4/4, an Andante doloroso, proved to be very effective as it gave the necessary breadth of time to live into the new movements but also delivered all the intensity you would want for a teenage soul! The questions I asked myself included: how do I get the students to move what they are feeling at this time of their lives? How can I do this in a way that is fun and yet so intense that they forget about being cool but just dive in?

Just the Boys

I had a first class just with the young men-in-becoming. After a full eurythmy body and soul warm up, I had them in two lines, far apart, facing each other. They were to listen to the gentle major or minor rolling arpeggio and move towards each other with the appropriate gesture; they had to listen as they did not know what mood would come. Then, as a louder dissonant chord sounded, they were to plunge jumping down (with their legs) through the other line (who were doing the same in the opposite direction) while stretching and tensing with their arms forward and backward and all the while keeping very vertical and awake, eyes forward. Then, once having pierced through, they would slow into another major or minor in calmness, then breathe out, listening inside to what had just happened. Sometimes they laughed hard and other times there was a brief stillness that ensued; difficult to describe. They seemed to have had great joy in this and other variations.

Teenage Girls and Boys

The next day I did the same exercise with the whole class. The boys were quite well behaved but were so sure of their movements that they made it a bit too rough for the girls to be able to experience it with as much inwardness. Having known this might happen, I would have asked for a separate class with the girls so that they might have the chance to also have the tender experiences of minor and tearing dissonance.

Forms without Forms

When we came to 'The Death of Ase' I felt that what worked best (having been inspired by three weeks work with Dorothea Mier), was to have the students listen to the music and then move it in two groups guided by my hands with forms previously worked on with Tatiana. This we did many times, then slowly bringing in the gestures. Only later, if necessary, were the forms illustrated on the board. This guiding with the hands, until they knew the form without me, I think left them more free to experience the movement in space (getting out of their heads) and especially to be sensitive to moving together with their compatriots. It was touching to see them, through this whole process, come to a real experience of the music and to be able to express it with their bodies, right to the fingertips and toes.

A Teacher

It is with gratitude that I was able to observe Tatiana in her humble, devoted and energetic work. She was able to bring children and teenagers to real experiences of the essential nature of music and poetry. She was a solid rudder for the teens' tempestuous souls and a revealer of the joys of incarnation for the younger ones. Her inner calm and outer versatility met them in their growing needs and this they responded to with joy. So after a rewarding time in Oslo I bade them a warm farewell, put away my woolly mittens and returned to lush fields of England.

MONEY FOR PERFORMING

Who said there is no money for eurythmy???

The Waldorf Education Fund (WEF) grants money every year to support eurythmy performances. Why not put some of this money to work in Canada? For details and application information, see the posting on the Association website. Deadline for submissions is October 15, 2009.

Solstad Visit - Update

When Margrethe and Trond Solstad visited Richmond Hill last Fall, I showed them the construction site for the new Richmond Hill Centre For The Performing Arts., and mused, "wouldn't it be nice if you could perform there, along with some local talent?" Michael Grit is the very innovative Theatre Manager, and he is very interested in developing new audiences and would probably be quite supportive. Maybe we could even sell the 600+ tickets and fill the place!

Upon reflection, I saw that this idea was premature. I have been getting similar responses from other centres in Canada regarding the possibility of another Solstad visit. "Yes, it would be wonderful, and maybe we could even get an audience, but then what? How do we follow up? We simply have no resources to support the development of eurythmy."

I will keep you posted as plans for the Solstad tour develops. If they don't come to Canada, it may be possible for some of us to see them in Spring Valley...

Note: The image is a rendering of the main theatre at the Richmond Hill Centre. I experienced a production of Tosca recently, and was really impressed by the acoustics and many other features of the hall. (So many of the modern halls are pretty much dead!) Do you think the stage would be suitable for eurythmy?

Working Capital For The Arts

Creative Trust is a Toronto-based organization that helps arts groups to raise working capital. Representatives from member companies attend workshops and training sessions, and learn how to manage the business side of their program. As they become better stewards of their limited resources, donor confidence increases and the IMPOSSIBLE starts to become POSSIBLE. (See Creative Trust Website)


Could this kind of knowledge be helpful to the development of eurythmy in Canada? Can we begin to develop a network of business/finance people who could contribute insights, connections and skills? Please post your comments, or contact me directly if you are interested.