The human being is a social being. We continuously practice the connection between I and You. Eurythmy supports this – it holds the thought that we are connected, the joy of moving together, and offers a non-confrontational way of awakening to the reality of a group. Also, whenever we can create a healthy circle of cooperation around our students, we plant seeds for their ability to work together in the future.
In the latest issue of Anthroposophic Perspectives in Inclusive Social Development, the journal of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development, Camphill Academy alumnus Adi Poran describes her explorations of therapeutic eurythmy with students from The Camphill School. The piece is adapted from her capstone project in the Camphill Academy’s Curative Education diploma program.
Poran describes her process working with a group of middle schoolers over the course of a year. Working out fundamental images–the straight line, the lemniscate–and gestures–point & circle, warmth–Poran builds up two weekly eurythmy lessons that are oriented towards bringing the students into relationship with themselves and ultimately their fellow students.
Social connection, enabled by a growing sense of self, is a central theme throughout Poran’s work and the article. Drawing on her background in eurythmy, Poran attempts to bring about these experiences through movement.
Poran developed a number of exercises which include both children and their paraprofessionals, aiming towards a fully inclusive lesson. During the “extra” session, students and paraprofessionals walked an ever-narrowing path, aided by drumming and the encouragement of their fellows. Poran describes this and other exercises in the piece excerpted in the latest issue of Perspectives.
When walking between boundaries, like the two yellow ribbons on the floor, one’s attention is drawn to oneself. It helps create a feeling of ‘where I am’ because the outside is pressing into a central point. The task the students were told to do is to walk only between those lines, not on the edges. That means that one cannot just walk wherever one wants but has a direction and has to know where to place the feet. There were little moments on our way when I could see a child being present or walking with uprightness before disappearing again. It is like a snail after the rain that checks his surroundings, whether it is safe enough to come out again and be exposed before going back into his shelter.
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