Leading Thoughts

In that it shall always stay subject to change and flexibility, the Curriculum described herein will incarnate in many stages, taking many forms along the way.  The different Curriculum points shall be like signposts on a journey of exploration, research, and discovery.  Curricular development will occur with student input, and it will be the students’ responsibility to actively participate in said development.  It is our intention to place the student’s interests and needs at the center of this specific training course and we are committed to this intention. The Curriculum Draft will not only be presented to and evaluated by our guest teachers and advisors, but always also by the students themselves. The students shall understand and be able to anticipate every step of their studies. Therefore, weekly and monthly previews and reviews will be held and documented in protocols. In addition, overviews of each semester will be given. The students will keep a journal as well as develop a portfolio of their studies. At the end of each semester, they will be asked to present both verbal and written reviews, reflecting on the materials with which they were presented.

Of course, the teachers shall always be part of the process of Curriculum Development and will have a clear understanding about how their block or subject fits into the whole. Proper communication amongst project leaders, teachers, and advisors shall be maintained via meetings at the beginning of each semester. For a smooth passing on from one block to the other: each teacher shall come a day (Friday) earlier to perceive the students and themes/ methods of the previous teacher. At the end of each block an evaluation form, protocol and attendance sheet shall be submitted to the teacher box.  All teachers shall teach according to the Curriculum, paying close attention to the leading thoughts and not only to their own wishes and passions.  Project leaders and other teachers/advisors will continuously accompany, assess and evaluate the teachers and their subjects, thereby keeping everything alive, developing and in flux.

We have initially only planned the distribution of the places of study and the different classes/ blocks for the first year of the program. Dependent on development and evaluation of this first year we will then decide upon the exact division of the campuses during the following years and invite the individual teachers to continue into the second respectively third year. The students will be an active part in this process. Especially for the third year guest teachers will be invited upon student requests.

We will make sure that at all times there will be sufficient time and space for student initiatives, and will additionally try to ignite and support their own impulses where and when ever possible.

In addition to sponsoring student interests and activities, all teachers in this program shall be strongly committed to fostering the development of the force of creativity in each individual student.  Care for each student’s development as a eurythmist as well as for his/her individual biographical development shall be at the core of all student considerations. Faculty meetings including student concerns and evaluations will be scheduled with the present teachers.  At the end of each semester will be public presentations of the students work in eurythmy, speech and singing as well as a review of their portfolio.  In addition the work of each year will be brought to a highpoint with a performance production, which will be brought on small performing tours in connection with the studies abroad. A music examination shall take place at the end of the second year.  Other examinations and written or verbal projects are scheduled as part of the Curriculum. These presentations will be assessed individually as well as in regards to the whole group. Evaluation meetings will be held with the individual students as well as with the whole group at the end of each semester. A protocol for the student evaluation meeting shall be written by the student and after a review signed by the teacher and the student.

Methods of teaching:

• Each eurythmy lesson should consist of three parts:
• Basic exercises to build the instrument
• Theme: Work on specific eurythmical element(s) and viewpoints
• Artistic piece(s)

      In the breathing of the lessons the three parts can/ should of course artistically flow into each other.

• Shape dynamic and breathing within the lessons and work out of an artistic “Ansatzpunkt” and enthusiasm. Not too much “stop- and- go”
• Penetrate the work with a mood of phenomenological research and work with polarities and different criterias. Lead the students to the archetypes out of their own research and experience.
• Vary teaching styles:  Research together with and without students watching/ Guided by teacher/ Guided by student(s)/ group work / individual tasks/ student guided/ interest groups/ project oriented/ homework. Let the students “own” their training.

Of particular importance in this training course is that it is especially designed for former Waldorf students who have already experienced much eurythmy. Since most students will come with extensive exposure to all the elements, the teachers could and should work out of a full artistic eurythmical stream.  Out of this enthusiasm for the artistic, they shall distill the work on the specific elements; maintaining a mood of exciting research and discovery, this work shall then immediately go deeper and ask for exactness – careful and soul-filled movement. Dependent on the element at hand, the journey could of course also go the other way, namely, to develop out of a given element or exercise a whole piece of art. Inventiveness and a mood of research will be essential.

In all its aspects, the eurythmy needs to be developed by the students and out of their abilities, not placed onto nor pushed into them. Everything lives already in them – it simply waits to be freed and revealed by the students out of their own activity and creativity.  Through their own artistic enthusiasm, the teachers shall inspire the students, offer help and advice, and mentor them on their individual journeys of finding eurythmy in and through their own being.

As the potential places of study will be on different continents with different languages, it will be possible to work on pieces in languages other than English over the course of the training.

All subjects shall be taught in intimate relation to eurythmy. Parallel themes shall be explored together or in connection with each other.  The teachers will be asked for and held to a standard of certain openness to input and willingness to fine-tune their subject matter and themes.

The academic year shall be in semesters:

Semester I: End of August until mid-December, with a Fall Break of 2 weeks in October. The length of the semester will be about 16 weeks, excluding breaks.

Semester II: Beginning of January until end of June, with an Easter/Spring Break of 2 weeks. It will start with 4 weeks internships until mid-February. The rest of the semester will be approx. 19 weeks long, excluding breaks.

Holidays will be taken off as accustomed by colleges and universities in the countries in which we will be staying.

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