Seventh/Eighth Grade Eurythmy Fall term It has been a pleasure working with the combined 7/8th grade classes in Eurythmy this year. The students from both grades work very well together.
We began the year by practicing several coordination and concentration exercises. In one exercise which we practiced along a seven pointed star; the students had to alternate moving a straight line and then a curve to the next staight path of the seven pointed star. The students moved the star in this way both forward and in reverse. This exercise requires that the students remain focused, concentrated, with a clear inner visualization of the form. They must also demonstrate flexible thinking to stay aware of where their next path lies. Rudolf Steiner said that "moving without pause from straight into curved forms helps to develop new etheric forces," which is one of the aims of having the students perform this exercise.
The students also practiced two exercises to help them bring a greater fluidity to their movement and to develop increased awareness of attuning themselves to moving in harmony with others. The first exercise was performed as a round in two groups to "Follia" by Alessandro Scarlatti.The second was a continuous looping form to " Prelude in C major" by Johann Sebastian Bach.
This term the class's main focus was exploring the qualities of major and minor harmony and it's expression through eurythmical movement and gesture. The students began by listening to pure major and minor chords played on the piano. They were then asked to describe what they experienced from the mood each evoked. We then discussed the two possibilities for movement--along straight lines or curves--and they were asked which harmony they thought would relate to which form of movement.
After this, the students were asked to try out movements or gestures they thought might be expressive of a major and minor chord. We then learned and practiced the Eurythmy gestures for the prime, major third, and fifth of a major chord and then the prime, minor third and fifth of a minor chord. To augment our practice, we listened to "Sarabande" by Handel, which is composed of alternating major and minor chords. I asked the student's to form groups of their own choosing to work on creating choreography for this piece, following the one rule of using straight lines for the major chords and curved forms for the minor. After working on this project for a number of week's the parents of the class were invited to one of their lessons so that the student's could perform their work for them. I was impressed by the simple beauty and creativity of the work from each group.
The student's were also asked to do a homework assignment and create an artistic rendering of the mood and qualities they felt when listening to a major chord and a minor chord, using color and form that was either figurative or abstract.
Now that we have explored movment and gesture for major and minor harmony, the class has begun to work on a larger Tone Eurythmy piece to "Bagatelle op. 33 no.2" by Beethoven. This piece includes both major and minor sections. It is my hope to have this finished for presentation at the spring Eurythmy performance.
If you have any questions, please send them to me through the contact page. I wish all the children and families of the 7th/8th grade a happy and healthy school year!