American Eurythmy School

Last updated March 08, 2019

The American Eurythmy School is a four-year eurythmy training in Weed, California, near Mount Shasta.^[1] It was founded in 1984 by Karen Sherman McPherson, who studied under Ilona Schubert in the 1970s in Dornach, Switzerland,^[2] and is the second largest four-year eurythmy training in North America. The first graduation from the four-year program was held in 1990. There are many graduates of the School teaching in Waldorf schools and performing in the United States.^[2]^[3]

Eurythmy is an expressive movement art originated by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with Marie von Sivers in the early 20th century. Primarily a performance art, it is also used in education, especially in Waldorf schools, and – as part of anthroposophic medicine – for claimed therapeutic purposes.

Weed is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the town had a total population of 2,967, down from 2,979 in 2000. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just outside, Weed proper, including Edgewood, Carrick, and Lake Shastina. These communities generally have mailing addresses that use Weed or its ZIP code. The total population of this area in 2007 was 6,318. Weed is about 10 miles (16 km) west-northwest of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark, and the second-tallest volcano in the Cascade Range.

Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of 14,179 feet (4321.8 m), it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth-highest in the state. Mount Shasta has an estimated volume of 85 cubic miles (350 km³), which makes it the most voluminous stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. The mountain and surrounding area are part of the Shasta–Trinity National Forest.

Training program

McPherson began her eurythmy training at the Eurythmy School at the Goetheanum in Switzerland and went on to train outside established training programs, under Ilona Schubert and Friedel Thomas, two of the original eurythmists who trained under Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner.^[2]

The Goetheanum, located in Dornach, Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. The building was designed by Rudolf Steiner and named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It includes two performance halls, gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical Society; neighboring buildings house the society's research and educational facilities. Conferences focusing on themes of general interest or directed toward teachers, farmers, doctors, therapists, and other professionals are held at the center throughout the year.

Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published philosophical works including The Philosophy of Freedom. At the beginning of the twentieth century he founded an esoteric spiritual movement, anthroposophy, with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy; other influences include Goethean science and Rosicrucianism.

Marie Steiner-von Sivers was the second wife of Rudolf Steiner and one of his closest colleagues. She made a great contribution to the development of anthroposophy, particularly in her work on the renewal of the performing arts, and the editing and publishing of Rudolf Steiner's literary estate.

Unlike other eurythmy schools, the American Eurythmy School emphasizes the transformation of the thinking life by the student—something indicated by Rudolf Steiner as necessary for a strong foundation and healthy development of the eurythmist's artistic instrument. Study of anthroposophy and related subjects are equally emphasized along with the studies in eurythmy.

Anthroposophy is a philosophy founded by the 19th century esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers of anthroposophy aim to develop mental faculties of spiritual discovery through a mode of thought independent of sensory experience. They also aim to present their ideas in a manner verifiable by rational discourse and specifically seek a precision and clarity in studying the spiritual world mirroring that obtained by natural historians in investigations of the physical world.

The American Eurythmy School maintains a position of independence from the general structures and leadership of the worldwide Anthroposophical Society, as well as from other streams of eurythmy work in America. As a result, its four-year diplomas are not yet recognized by the Eurythmy Association of North America or the Artistic Section of the Anthroposophical Society in Dornach, Switzerland.

The General Anthroposophical Society is an "association of people whose will it is to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world." As an organization, it is dedicated to supporting the community of those interested in the inner path of schooling known as anthroposophy, developed by Rudolf Steiner.

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Sergei Olegovich Prokofieff was a Russian anthroposophist. He was the grandson of the composer Sergei Prokofiev and his first wife Lina Prokofiev, and the son of Oleg Prokofiev and his first wife Sofia Korovina. Born in Moscow, he studied fine arts and painting at the Moscow School of Art. He encountered anthroposophy in his youth, and soon made the decision to devote his life to it.

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Alfred Cecil Harwood *05.01.1898 London (UK) †22.12.1975 Forest Row Sussex was a lecturer, Waldorf teacher, writer, editor and anthroposophist.

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Else Klink was director of the Eurythmeum Stuttgart, the first training centre for Eurythmy founded by Marie Steiner in 1923, from 1935 until 1991. In 1945 she established the Eurythmeum Stage Group, which she also led until 1991. Her work contributed centrally to establishing Eurythmy as a performing art within the culture of Europe and internationally.

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References

↑ Rundbrief def Sektion für redende und musizierende Künste (Newsletter of the Section for Speech and Music) Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine ., Goetheanum, Dornach, no. 32, Easter 2000, p. 56. Accessed November 3, 2009.
1 2 3 The American Eurythmy School comes to Ukiah, The Ukiah Daily Journal, vol. 150, no.43, A-3, May 22, 2008. Accessed November 3, 2009.
↑ For example, a report of AES teachers performing and teaching eurythmy blocks: A Eurythmy Performance from Inland Isle ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Snippets: WATERSHED High School, March 3, 2006. Accessed November 5, 2009.

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[1] Rundbrief def Sektion für redende und musizierende Künste (Newsletter of the Section for Speech and Music) Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine ., Goetheanum, Dornach, no. 32, Easter 2000, p. 56. Accessed November 3, 2009.

[ukiah-2] 1 2 3 The American Eurythmy School comes to Ukiah, The Ukiah Daily Journal, vol. 150, no.43, A-3, May 22, 2008. Accessed November 3, 2009.

[3] For example, a report of AES teachers performing and teaching eurythmy blocks: A Eurythmy Performance from Inland Isle ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Snippets: WATERSHED High School, March 3, 2006. Accessed November 5, 2009.