Francesca Rachele Oppedisano published an article in the art magazine stayinart on the eurythmic work of interdisciplinary artist Vera Koppehel. Here is a summary of the article.
Vera Koppehel’s source of inspiration for her eurythmic dance lies in a very specific moment in 1908. After his presentation on the beginning of the Gospel of John, Rudolf Steiner asked the Russian painter Margarita Voloshina, “Can you dance that?” This moment brought Koppehel to a realization: thinking is movement. She understood that it’s possible to visualize the movements of thought, for example, with the help of eurythmy.
Eurythmy is neither a simple art of gesture nor pure dance for the sake of non-verbal expression. Rather, as a gesture of expression, it lies between these two poles and, in essence, is like a poetic language. Eurythmy is a way of thinking that thinks with moving gestures and creates invisible geometry in space. The body performing the dance of eurythmy acts and is an actor at the same time. It allows the invisible—that which precedes the artistic forms of thought—to become visible, be it pictures, music, or words. The moving forms of eurythmy represent the elusive aspects of creation: the energy of radiating sound, the lines arising in space from the movements of the body, or the meaning of a word.
Koppehel’s eurythmy work is based on the understanding that we are all part of a unified cosmos or biosphere. There is no center or separate units; everything is interrelated. Koppehel expresses this in a variety of media, through the visual interplay of light, space, sound, metal, and color. Even in an apparent physical stillness, her movements hold a constant tension with the environment. The dance thus becomes an energy field in motion.
Together with Morten Klinkvort, Vera Koppehel runs the Institute for Inspired Movement in Copenhagen, Denmark. They offer a contemporary eurythmy training, “Flow & U,” accompanied by guest lecturers. The practice-oriented, part-time training is aimed at people of all levels of experience who are seeking a continuing education course in professional eurythmy skills.
Translation Joshua Kelberman
Source (in German) stayinart
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