australian steiner curriculum .australian steiner curriculum framework the arts: eurythmy curriculum

Steiner Education Australia DANCE A: EURYTHMY CURRICULUM K-10 www.steinereducation.edu.au Version: April 2015

STEINER EDUCATION AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIAN STEINER CURRICULUM

FRAMEWORK

The Arts:

EURYTHMY CURRICULUM

(DANCE A)

Kindergarten/Foundation to Year 10

April 2015

The Australian Steiner Curriculum: Eurythmy was developed to meet the recognition and

equivalence given to alternate internationally recognised curricula by the Australian Curriculum

Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

While this process is currently not available for the Arts, Steiner Education Australia has made

this curriculum available for Steiner Schools to use to meet state requirements based on the

Australian Curriculum.

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Revisions included in this document:

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Rationale

I seek within

The activity of creative powers,

The life of creative forces.

The earthly force of weight

Speaks to me

Through the word of my feet;

The forming might of the air

Speaks to me

Through the singing of my hands;

The power of heavenly light,

Speaks to me

Through the thinking of my head,

How the world in the human being,

Speaks, sings and thinks.

Rudolf Steineri

Steiner education places the human being in direct relationship to all that exists and can be understood.

Within the Steiner school, the developing child unfolds as a being whose very nature is recognised as a

microcosmic realisation of all that is revealed in the world. Therefore, Steiner education draws

correlations between observable manifestations of the world, inner experience and human development.

At its essence, eurythmy draws on the creative forming forces which shape all existence and are active in

the human being. An intrinsic understanding of the connection between the world and the human being is

strongly brought about through the artistic medium of eurythmy.

Eurythmy is an art form where inner movements, evoked in the human being through speech and music,

are made visible through movements of the body. Underpinning this artistic pursuit is an exploration into

form and metamorphosis. Readily observable representations of form and metamorphosis can be found,

for example, in crystalline structures and in the living growth-processes in plants. More subtle aspects of

form and metamorphosis can be seen in the sentient expressions and/or gesture qualities of animals and

in thought patterns of human beings. These naturally occurring form principles come to artistic expression

when the human being creates, and the human being is most intimately creative when using ones own

body as the instrument, when speaking and singing. In eurythmy, the splendour of the human being as a

creator being is brought to consciousness when, through beautiful, rhythmic movements, the forms

which arise when speaking and singing are made visible.

Through eurythmy, archetypal forms and their varied manifestations are discovered and explored. Form

and metamorphosis arises through an ever-changing relationship between time and space. Underpinning

all nuanced form is also the interplay between qualities of expansion and contraction. The subtle ways in

which these qualities combine create a great variation of external forms and inner experiences that can

be recognized. At their most minimal, the contrasting qualities of expansion and contraction are revealed

through the straight line and the curve, or as point and periphery. Here is to be found the most

fundamental of gesture principles. These known form gestures can also be experienced as movement

tendencies in the soul life of the human being. Soul or emotional expressions of expansion and

contraction have been recognized as a tendency towards introversion and extroversion, melancholy and

cheer, or cowardice and courage. Thus, form and metamorphosis can be understood to have both inner

and outer expressions. Through eurythmy, the artful task begins whereby the student comprehends the

relationship between his or her inner experiences, external manifestations of form in the world and the

creative forming of words and tone. When the human being speaks or sings, expansion and contraction,

and time and space, come into dynamic relationship. This relationship occurs during the creative forming

of sounds and tones.

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Sounds and tones, formed by the human larynx, are worked with consciously in eurythmy. They provide a

window through which the beauty and wonder of form and gesture can be understood, and bring the

human being into relationship with archetypal forms and metamorphic processes. The difference between

sounds crafted through speech, which give rise to vowels and consonants, and tones formed when

singing, which create pitch and tone colour, is perceivable. In each instance, quite different forming

principles are brought into play. These different principles are studied discretely through the two branches

of eurythmy. The different ways in which human beings create through these forming forces is studied

through: speech eurythmy, which brings to visible form the spoken word; and tone eurythmy, which

reveals the inner experiences and structure of music. Artistically, eurythmy can be best explored when

working with material already imbued with creative, human endeavour. Stories, poetry, imaginative

picturing and music provide students with an artistic basis from which to begin their exploration into

movement.

The whole human being comes into expression when creating eurythmy. Eurythmy movement sequences

arise from meaningful gestures which reveal the flow and shape of form that can be seen in the larynx,

mouth and lips when speaking or singing. These gestures are combined with spatial patterning. Some

patterns bring to light the musical or grammatical structure underpinning the material with which the

student works, while others draw on archetypal, naturally occurring forms seen in nature or from

perceivable tendencies in human soul experiences. These sequences are created and performed both

individually and collaboratively. Through an artful combination of eurythmic sequences, the relationship

between sound or tone, musical or grammatical structure, archetypal form principles and the human

being in space and time, is brought to expression. Through the subtle way in which the gestures and

patterns are chosen and formed, the human beings inner, soul relationship to the spoken word,

imaginative picture and music is also revealed. The development and refinement of technical movement

skills, and an understanding of movement principles, enables the body to become the invisible

instrument through which the sounds, tones, forms and metamorphic processes can be made visible.

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Through eurythmy gestures and archetypal formations, as well as through improvised and newly created

sequences, students explore and express personal, cultural, social, emotional, philosophical and spiritual

meaning and intent. Terminology specific to eurythmy, the spoken word and music is also acquired. The

acquisition of this terminology enables students to express themselves creatively when exploring,

creating and refining eurythmy both individually and collaboratively, as well as when evaluating and

discussing viewed works, literature and music. Through practise, choreography, performance and

appreciation, students identify, connect and experience their own culture kinship, as well as that of

ancient and present civilisations, indigenous cultures and other communities throughout the world.

Pursuit in eurythmy brings the human being, in body, soul and spirit, into joyful harmony. It enkindles

innovative thinking, helps to integrate students academic learning through kinaesthetic experience,

enlivens feeling life and furthers physical coordination. Through practising, choreographing, performing

and appreciating eurythmy, students become flexible and self-assured movement artists, develop

innovative problem-solving skills, acquire capacities of observation, school their inner life, gain multi-

modal, trans-disciplinary understanding and obtain an appreciation of the world around them. Eurythmy

also works towards the integration and harmonisation of cognitive, emotional and physical growth

processes. This harmonisation process occurs within the individual and with regard to the students

interaction as members of a community. Through practicing archetypal movements in eurythmy, in

accordance with the students developmental stage and in a warm and creative manner, imbalances in

the human being and in the workings of the class can be brought into harmonious relationship.

Aims