The Early History of Eurythmy (CW 277c)

Notebook entries, addresses, rehearsals, programs, introductions to performances, and a chronology, 1913–1924; 

Talks given before 16 eurythmy performances in Bottmingen, Dusseldorf, Munich, Berlin, Dornach, Stuttgart, Ilkley, and Penmaenmawr (CW 277c)

The Early History of Eurythmy is the first of three volumes of Rudolf Steiner’s “eurythmy addresses,” short introductory talks preceding the earliest performances of this new art of movement. Of the nearly 300 transcripts that survive, few have thus far been translated into English.

This volume presents, chronologically, the addresses related mostly to drama, generally, and specifically to stage performances of Goethe’s Faust and Steiner’s mystery dramas. In addition, it features all of Rudolf Steiner’s notebook entries on eurythmy, along with all of the extant eurythmy programs from 1913 to 1925, which yield invaluable insights into Steiner’s taste and aesthetics.

Frederick Amrine’s engaging introduction emphasizes that eurythmy is an important episode in the history of dance, but has been unjustly neglected. He contends that eurythmy is a continuation of an aesthetic revolution that began not in Europe but in America; that the original impulses leading to “new dance” were deeply spiritual; and that there are deep but largely unrecognized affinities between “new dance” and eurythmy. 

This counter-narrative about the prehistory of eurythmy within the history of dance should be of particular interest to English-speaking anthroposophists, because it identifies the pioneering work of three American women as the all-important context for the development of eurythmy: Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis. Drawing on extensive historical documentation, he states that it is eurythmy rather than modern dance that is the rightful heir of Fuller, Duncan, and St. Denis.

CONTENTS:

Introduction: Eurythmy and the “New Dance,” by Frederick Amrine

Notebook Entries and an Excerpt from a Letter

Addresses and Other Texts Related to Eurythmy

Two Rehearsed Readings of “Classical Walpurgis Night” from Goethe’s Faust II

Eurythmy Programs, Advertisements, and Announcements

Chronology and Overview

The Early History of Eurythmy is a translation from German of part 3 from Eurythmie. Die Offenbarung der sprechenden Seele ("Eurythmy. The revelation of the speaking soul"; GA 277); Cover image by O . Rietmann: The eurythmist Erika Schilbach (1920s) in the attitude of “dissonance” (Courtesy of Rudolf Steiner-Archiv). 

Writings and Lectures by Rudolf Steiner

Introduction by Frederick Amrine

380 pages

6" x 9"

Published September 2015

Paperback