From the History of the Dornach Hill…

Focusing on Marie Steiner-von Sivers’ distinctive collaboration with Rudolf Steiner, this book offers an engaging, lively narrative of the early decades of the anthroposophic movement. Utilizing eyewitness accounts and primary sources, Angela Locher creates vivid images of the arts being developed at the Goetheanum, in particular eurythmy, speech formation, and the dramatic arts. She also describes many fascinating aspects of general anthroposophic history, including the period of collaboration with the Theosophical Society; the design and construction of the first and second Goetheanum buildings; Steiner’s overseas travel, tours, and visits; the pivotal Christmas Conference of 1923/24; stage performances, including Steiner’s mystery dramas; and Rudolf Steiner’s unexpected death and its immediate aftermath.

Locher structures this absorbing study around the life of Marie Steiner—from her birth in 1867, childhood in Russia, and eventual passing in Switzerland in 1948.

“I have written this book especially for subsequent generations of eurythmists, actors, and speakers who could not experience what had been achieved in the previous century…the vital processes of the development of eurythmy and the dramatic arts. These created the foundation on which we stand today and from which we can carry on into the future.” —Angela Locher

About the Author

Angela Locher was born in Switzerland in 1930 and attended the Rudolf Steiner School in Zurich, where she excelled as a flutist. She served an apprenticeship as a bookbinder before studying eurythmy under Marianne Ruof and later Helene Reisinger. In 1955 she joined the eurythmy stage group at the Goetheanum under the direction of Marie Savitch. In 1973, she directed postgraduate studies for eurythmists, and from 1981 to 1990 she was leader of eurythmy work at the Goetheanum. From 1991 to 2004 she worked with the eurythmy training in Berlin. She has created numerous choreography forms for music and recitation, and has authored a biography of the eurythmist Helene Reisinger, who worked with Marie Steiner. Angela devoted her attention to creating this book in her 87th year, while living near the Goetheanum.