In eurythmy the mood of India lives in the gesture for ‘Ah.’ This
movement streams to and fro from the periphery and is held in the
mood of wonder and longing to return to the heavens. In this gesture is
expressed their wish to return to the Golden Age, when men and the
gods co-existed as brothers in goodness and bliss. Stories from other
ancient cultures that exist today in tribes from Africa or South America
tell us that this closeness to the divine brings a social peace and happiness
unknown to modern cultures.
A note of warning: It is very difficult for tenth graders to sustain the
‘Ah’ gesture. They will become sleepy and bored if this is the opening
study. So begin the choreography in eurythmical movement, and, after
creating the forms with them and studying the period, ask them how this
longing to return to the spiritual existence can be shown in gesture. They
will have the opportunity to transform the movement upward, in feeling,
raised on the toes and streaming into the form of the ‘Ah.’ This activity
will open the way for them to easily find the gestures for the succeeding
epochs out of the mood of the times. It is an exciting opportunity for
them to use their intuitive powers and to integrate their knowledge on
a higher level.
– Satapatha Brahmana
From Whom the whole world springs
To Whom it returns again
By whom it is surely sustained
To Him the Self who knoweth all
Be all honor.
– Translated by Virginia Brett
Notes and eurythmy from Hanna Kress
English can be done as well as Sanskrit.
