What is the role of silent eurythmy interludes?

This question was initially related to planetary and zodiac gestures in the silent auftakt (prologue) at the beginning of a eurythmy presentation and the silent nachtakt (epilogue) at the end. The silent interludes and additional gestures of silent emphasis that intersperse the eurythmy also come into consideration here.

I shall use nourishing images to convey these ideas. A eurythmy performance feeds us the Bread of Life and the silent eurythmy is the Water of Life.

A good meal may begin with a cleansing aperitif. The role of the silent eurythmy before a piece is to open the inner curtain and set the mood, indicating the soul landscape in which the speech will build its creations. What is about to happen? Where are we being taken to now? Can we find our inner orientation in these moments of preparation? In my view, it is good to inspire an audience with questions to encourage their inner participation. Obviously this participation is more usually unconscious attunement than conscious accompaniment. The nagging feeling of missing out on something important often arises during the moments of a performance when the audience cannot unify what they see with what they hear. Silent eurythmy is easier on the eye as the ear relaxes.

At the conclusion of a eurythmy presentation we may close the curtain gently with a silent, sometimes dramatic, epilogue. The audience is left to digest the subtle after-image of their experience. What was that? What happened here? Where have we been? Silent eurythmy then helps the audience to inwardly let go, so that the after-image arises and then allowed to sink down into the underworld of digestion. An epilogue helps us wash down the final mouthfuls before gently removing the empty light-filled plate and closing the inner curtain.

Although the silent eurythmy has its place alongside music and speech, my experience is that silent eurythmy often speaks even more strongly to an audience than the eurythmy of actual speech and music. Completely silent eurythmy presentations are very palatable to audiences. People feel that they are in the presence of the Mysterious and are able to disengage their peppery intellect more easily.

Discover Eurythmy aims to encourage more interest in eurythmy, dialogue between eurythmists and enthusiasts, and also more questions!