Anyone for classical music Zumba?


Learning and experiencing music through movement as taught by Dalcroze Eurhythmics was mentioned in yesterday’s post about Rudolf Steiner, and that path now leads to Gurdjieff’s Music for the Movements. This was composed in collaboration with Thomas de Hartmann to accompany the ‘sacred dances’ that formed part of G. I. Gurdjieff’s consciousness expanding ‘Work’, and both the Gurdjieff Movements and Dalcroze Eurhythmics are examples of music as utility rather than entertainment. It could well help the case for funding concerts and music education if classical music emphasised utility more and entertainment less – dance is just one aspect of the overlooked music therapy movement. Do any other bus pass holders remember the BBC ‘Music and Movement’ programmes which ran from the 1940s to 1970s? These were presented by Ann Driver who was a pupil of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze but broke with him after he criticised her for not crediting his system in the title of the programme. The mind, body and spirit market in America is worth $10.63 billion. Could classical music Zumba be the ‘Music and Movement’ of the twenty-first century? Header image shows pianist Wim van Dullemen’s recording of Music for the Movements. Another musical interpreter of Gurdjieff’s teachings features in Music as synchronicitous soup.

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Alice letts said…
fascinating! thank you for this. alice
11:19 am
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