The Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble was created to offer a direct experience of the depth, beauty, and substance of eurythmy in performance. Giving broader access to eurythmy grew out of the early performances of the ESV faculty on the beautiful Threefold Auditorium stage, enriching the cultural life of the Eurythmy School and wider community.

The Ensemble’s story begins in 1986, when Dorothea Mier invited colleague Elise van Lennep and alumni Kristin Hawkins, Natasha Moss, and Beth Dunn-Fox to help build a touring group. With her years of experience on the Goetheanum stage in Dornach, Switzerland, Dorothea guided the development of a performance program for adults, and a fairytale for schools. The ESV Ensemble then set out on its first performance tour to Austin and Dallas, Texas, inaugurating this new ESV initiative.

Since that first journey 36 years ago, the Ensemble has performed continuously in North America and Europe, and also engaged in special projects like the New World Symphony Project to sixteen North American cities, The Haydn Symphony Project, The 100 Years of Eurythmy Symphony Project, the first-ever performances of all four Mystery Dramas in the English language, and tours to Japan, Taiwan, and China. With the number of performances, conferences, and workshops we present each year, we are one of the most active eurythmy touring ensembles in the world.

The work of the ESV Ensemble has been molded and enhanced by many eurythmists, speakers, musicians, and lighting technicians over its rich history. Soon after the group began, Annelies Davidson and Barbara Schneider-Serio became core members, making lasting contributions to the artistic advancement of the touring work. In 2006, Dorothea Mier passed on the artistic leadership of the group to Barbara Schneider-Serio, bringing a new chapter to the Ensemble’s creative evolution and growth.

The Ensemble has continuously held a dynamic, international blend of members that now includes eurythmists Barbara Schneider-Serio (artistic director), Emily Biffis, Virginia Hermann, Cameron MacArthur, Wei Rung, and Sea-Anna Vasilas, speaker Jennifer Kleinbach, pianist Grigory Smirnov, and lighting technicians Gino Ver Eecke, Maria Ver Eecke, and Ethan Sudan.  We are very fortunate to have a wonderful resource of expert choreographers working with our stage group, including Barbara Schneider-Serio, Dorothea Mier, Annelies Davidson, and Natasha Moss. The core Ensemble members also contribute choreography.

The Artistic Impulse of the Ensemble

Eurythmy works with the understanding that space is filled and alive with the forces that shape both us and our world. From this we can begin to understand why eurythmy is meant to be a group art in its highest form; because it is what happens in the space between performers that carries the unique signature of this movement art. Enlivening the space between performers calls for a dynamic balance between complete individual involvement and a “listening in movement” to others. Finding an approach to enhance individual expression, while building a unified group “sounding” in movement, is the ongoing work of the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble.

Bring the ESV Ensemble to Your Community!

Our tour coordinator, Marta Stemberger, would love to hear from you. Please email esvtour@eurythmy.org.