Eurhythmics

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For the musical group, see Eurythmics.

Eurhythmics (also Rhythmic Gymnastics, Rhythmics) is an approach to the education of music that was devised by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze. By 1906, Dalcroze began giving public presentations of his method.

It is the expression of physical and musical rhythms and the basic laws affecting their performance. Through participation in simple games, exercises and improvisations the students learn to combine music and movement in order to develop rhythmic unity between the eye, ear, mind and body.

The system grew directly out of Jaques-Dalcroze's experiences as a music theory teacher at the Conservatory in Geneva. He found that his students could not appreciate rules for music without any understanding of the corresponding musical experience. His system encouraged students to feel changes in time, space, and energy that occur in music through discovery through learning.

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Important Influences on the development of Eurhythmics

As a child, Emile attended both a progressive school with a Pestalozzian approach, as well as a traditional school based on recitation. His strong love of the progressive school influenced his pedagogy.

Before taking a post teaching theory, Jaques-Dalcroze spent a year as a conductor in Algiers, where he was exposed to a rhythmic complexity that helped influence him to pay special attention to rhythmic aspects of music.

Jaques-Dalcroze also had an important friendship with Édouard Claparède, the renowned psychologist. In particular, this collaboration resulted in Eurhythmics often employing games of change and quick reaction in order to focus attention and increase learning.

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