Once a week, Classes K to 5 have a eurythmy lesson, accompanied by Ken Naughton on piano, in our beautiful eurythmy room. Here is a summary of our recent work. I look forward to lots more lovely work in the new year.
Class 1
In Class 1 Eurythmy we have continued our exploration of movement to music and speech adding various arm gestures representing vowels and consonants. Most of these elements have been woven into stories inspired by the folktales The Turnip and Tiddilick. These have helped build on and develop the children’s spatial awareness and their relationship to the world around them.
Class 2
Class 2 Eurythmy has had a stronger emphasis on movement in formation. This has allowed each child the opportunity to practice adapting their own movement into a larger social group, as well as developing their own initiative and courage. Our main spring-themed lesson has been a eurythmy form called We Seek One Another, a square form with a curbed crossing. Working with this form has helped the children to adjust quickly to a change in orientation whilst moving in time to music and a verse of Banjo Patterson’s, The Australian Way.
Class 3
As the children’s appreciation and understanding of music has grown this year, so has the complexity of expression in eurythmy. Class 3 commenced Term 3 by learning the C major scale, and then moved with it on the Crown Form. Later in Term 4 they moved to the music Star of Ester. Exercises with copper rods and concentration exercises have also been a major focus.
Class 4
To support the Class 4 child's growing independence and the development of their feeling life, we started Term 3 experiencing major and minor chords in tone eurythmy. This term, we have worked on a choreographic form called the Harmonious Eight, in which we focused on slowing ourselves down and moving harmoniously with each other in time with the music. Rod exercises and concentration exercises continued in Class 4, with an emphasis on precision and, increasingly, calling on the individual child's initiative.
Class 5
Commencing in Term 3, Class 5 has continued with dynamic fast rhythmical movement, with lots of jumping and thematic repetition. In the Hall of the Mountain King and The Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker have been favourite music pieces for this work. In conclusion to all the dynamic work this year, Class 5 are also enjoying the relative peace and calm of the Harmonious Eight. Rod exercises, such as Waterfall and Nightsong, have been a mainstay, where we either pass our rods on to our neighbours or drop and catch in rapid succession.
Kira Rea
Eurythmy Teacher