Art in Daily Life

Even in a media age of information technology, the human being with his own creative powers stands at the centre of our schools.

Sometimes this becomes visible on stage, when a class has rehearsed for a theatre performance. The pupils meet many artistic challenges, with more or less skill – and each child gives his or her best! Painting props, sewing costumes, designing posters, rehearsing music and choreographies, doing the lighting and then of course the acting itself.

King Lear, his fool, the maid of Orleans or the Queen Mother … big parts and small parts. A new role: to begin with I feel powerless, I am never going to make it, overwhelmed, unsure. This is a new land in which I feel my way forward, feel the power of the word, feel security and grow beyond my self.

To identify with a role makes a demand on the whole human being. Speech, expression of soul and movement become one. The creative process involves letting go of the old and daring the new.

Movement, such as eurythmy and gym, speech exercises, choral singing, orchestral music, working in clay and wood, stone masonry, painting and drawing provide manifold fields of artistic endeavour that are extensively cultivated throughout the 12 years.

Translated by Britta Edwards