From dreams of music and speech made visible, Eurythmy!

First developed by the Austrian scientist, artist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1912, Eurythmy incorporates specific gestures -- for each vowel, consonant and nuance of speech, each note, chord and interval of music. The eurythmist is concerned with expressing through movement the creative forces that first inspired the author or composer. Performers of this unique art form combine movement, gestures, colors and light as they dance and mime in artistic expression. Intrinsic to the performance are colorful, flowing costumes that interplay with hued lighting.

For its 1997 North American tour, the Else-Klink-Ensemble / Eurythmeum Stuttgart will present a full-length program of speech eurythmy -- including Antoine de St. Exupéry's The Little Prince, a scene from Shakespeare's Macbeth and poetry by D.H. Lawrence, Jaques Ibert and Charles Causley -- and music eurythmy, including selections by Shostakovich, Mussorgsky, Smetana, Arensky and the Beatles.

A special 45-minute performance for children will feature the Brothers Grimm's The Golden Goose and a Bach cantata.

The Else-Klink-Ensemble / Eurythmeum Stuttgart, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996, is named for its longtime director Else Klink, who formed the ensemble shortly after World War II. The company had its first major success at the Stuttgart State Opera and eventually toured throughout Europe, North and South America, South Africa, Japan, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

Currently under the direction of Michael Leber and Benedikt Zweifel, the ensemble includes twelve eurythmists performing with three musicians who comprise the Jerevan Trio of Armenia, and two dramatic speech performers.

The 1997 North American tour debuted March 26 in Portland, Oregon and continues to Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago, New York City, Spring Valley (New York), Sheffield (Massachusetts), Washington D.C. and Cincinnati before concluding May 1 in Toronto, Ontario.

Returning for the first time in nearly twenty years, The Else-Klink-ensemble / Eurythmeum Stuttgart's Chicago performance is sponsored by the Midwest Eurythmy Group, the Rudolf Steiner Branch and the Anthroposophical Society in America.

Chicago performances are to be held be at the Harold Washington Library Theater, 400 South State Street on Sunday, April 13. The full-length performance begins at 4:30 p.m.; tickets are $20. The children's program is about 45-minutes long and begins earlier, at 2:00 p.m.; tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

Tickets are available at the Anthroposophical Society, (312) 913-9226.

Next Article