initiative! From the project site:
Mission
Project Zero Circle by Johanna Frouws
In May 2014, Markus and Andrea Weder of Austin, Texas, together with speech artist Jeremiah Turner, cellist Jun Seo, and violinist Risa Ano, brought their new eurythmy performance, Project Zero Circle, to Fair Oaks, California. I found it to be the most remarkable eurythmy performance I have ever seen. Let me present a few disclaimers first. At 85 years old, I certainly no longer belong to the younger generation. I have had only limited formal education, and I have no musical talent to speak of. I love to paint, however, and even more than that, I love to garden. I love colors, and I love living things. And I have been a lifelong student of Rudolf Steiner. So what was it about this evening of eurythmy that impressed me so much? The first part of the evening’s performance consisted chiefly of serious works by the poet Denise Levertov, interspersed with the movements of the Sonata for violin and cello by French composer Maurice Ravel. The eurythmists entered the performance space from the front. From their very first steps, we could experience with how much love and how much presence of consciousness they indwelled the space. Their faces were very neutral, and very open, and we could see how their ears were opened wide to hear what lived or what was to come in the space. The connection between the two of them, and from the two of them to the audience, was palpable. Then the recitation began, and with articulate movements they brought the pictures of the poetry to life.
Beginnings But we have only begun To love the earth. We have only begun To imagine the fullness of life. How could we tire of hope? —so much is in bud. 16 •
being human
How can desire fail? —we have only begun. to imagine justice and mercy, only begun to envision how it might be to live as siblings with beast and flower, not as oppressors. ...
The Austin Eurythmy Ensemble cherishes the spiritual wisdom of the human body in motion. By promoting social harmony and spiritual renewal, we seek to achieve individual, cultural, and global transformation. Rooted in the tradition of eurythmy as inaugurated by Rudolf Steiner and yet contemporary in artistic approach, the Ensemble intends to make this art form a relevant part of today’s cultural life. We are carrying eurythmy into the future by performing internationally and educating future generations of eurythmists. Our envisioned state-of-the-arts rehearsal and performance center will include an International Eurythmy Academy. This center will serve as a meeting place for visual, literary, and performing artists to inspire each other and for the spiritually curious and artistically inclined to build community.
What Is Eurythmy? What is only heard is partly hidden. The rustle of the leaves gently swaying in the wind, the flap of the bird’s rapid ascent, the sigh of a contented child. There is a deeper experience of sound, one that arises out of our most intimate connection to the world – to the earth, to each other, to the intangible qualities of being alive. The inner life of sound reveals visible form. “As in the ear, so also in the eye.” The fullness of the words of the poet, the static form of the pianist’s ode – these are portals into the fluid sculpture that speech and music create in the physical space of our world. Eurythmy is harmonious rhythm.