Recommendations for Eurhythmics Teachers

Introduction by Jeremy Dittus

When Anne Farber passed away in 2024, the Farber family donated many of her papers, articles, and other Dalcroze-related materials to the New York chapter of the Dalcroze Society of America. Among this fabulous and curious treasure trove was an excerpt from an article Monsieur Jaques-Dalcroze wrote in 1948. This collection of recommendations was fascinating to read; the words of advice from Jaques-Dalcroze offer thirty-nine windows into the mind of the creator of Dalcroze education. Though these ideas are more than seventy-five years old, remarkably, his advice to future practitioners of la Méthode Jaques-Dalcroze still holds true in 2026. There are many takeaways from this reading, and I’d like to share a few of my own here.

After reading this the first time, I was immediately struck by the intensely human aspect of this work. He clarifies that the method should celebrate the students who are within our midst and treat them with care, sensitivity, and honesty. I admire how he encourages us to develop our passion for music, movement, and art, while at the same time keeping our students’ well-being as a cornerstone of the work. Additionally, we offer students the opportunity to improve their own self-awareness, which deepens their artistic capabilities and nurtures their aesthetic understanding. Though we must plan for what we want students to experience and thereby understand, Dalcroze reminds us that we must be prepared to adapt to our students, including the spaces and cultures we are working in. He affirms how we are simultaneously students and masters of our craft: We offer incredible learning experiences to our students, but we also have the potential to grow and change as a direct result of the individuals in the Dalcroze hall. Almost a century before Carol Dweck coined the term “growth mindset,” Dalcroze created a method that placed this philosophy at its core.

As I read and continue to reread his ideas, I am reminded of how intricate and monumental this work is for the students and the instructor alike. Music, movement, and gesture work together within each of us in distinctive ways. Consequently, each instructor brings their own unique perspective to the practice and facilitates an education that is deeply personal. While meeting the goals and objectives of the activities in class, students also process and internalize the work on their own terms. Despite this hyper-individualistic focus, we can hear familiar pedagogical threads that connect us all within the practice. The Professional Development Committee of the Dalcroze Society of America (DSA) has codified these threads as the “Principles of a Dalcroze Education.” I encourage you to consider what Dalcroze principles you find in his suggestions. For your convenience, I’ve listed them here as presented in the DSA’s Teacher Training Manual for Certification and Licensure.

Reading these values throughout Jaques-Dalcroze’s ideas below brings immense satisfaction and a profound sense of pride in our collective work here in the United States Dalcroze community. Though there are many opportunities for specificity in la Méthode Jaques-Dalcroze, there are also occasions where ideas can exist in opposition: keep the tempo steady but change it frequently; express the nuances of the music but without exaggeration; offer clear structure and objectives, but also ensure that students can experience freedom of personal expression; avoid using the same tonalities and progressions, yet avoid being carried away by the music you create; offer challenging exercises and easier exercises throughout the lesson. Painting with these pedagogical shades of gray instead of dogmatic contrasts of black and white can be both a struggle and a delight. It’s a constant balancing act that contains many possibilities for success and infinitely more ways where a lesson may falter.

This relentless negotiation of stimulus demands that there will never be one way of knowing in this method. It also affirms that perfection cannot be the primary objective of our work; instead, we place our efforts on awareness, discovery, and the process of learning. It’s part of the joyful aspect of what we do.

Therefore, I would like to suggest that as you read these, avoid falling into the pitfall of “I can’t possibly do all this in every lesson.” I don’t think that is the point; there are times we can accomplish many of these ideals and times when some are simply not feasible. We, as artistic educators, should feel empowered by the principles of a Dalcroze education, not bound by them. As long as we don’t read them as dogma, the reminders Jaques-Dalcroze offers can be useful, powerful, and motivating…just like nature of music itself.

One of the reasons why this method engages lifelong learning is its focus on ingenuity and artistic expression. There are always new, innovative ways we can approach musical understanding when artistry is lighting our path. Because of this aesthetic focus, Dalcroze education has the potential to be inclusive to anyone, and it can be applied to a wide variety of disciplines. Naturally, the sophisticated nature of the work comes with high standards of excellence, but that also is part of its appeal. Artistic education challenges us at our core, so Dalcrozians tend to take this work seriously. That is because when we meet challenges presented in the Dalcroze hall, we cultivate personal ownership and conviction. We hear this theme throughout Jaques-Dalcroze’s suggestions.

We all have so much to learn through the dynamic relationship between music and movement. While looking toward the future, filled with new possibilities and endeavors, is always a part of our vision, looking back to the source of this marvelous work also has its benefits; as the saying goes, standing on the shoulders of those came before us allows us to see more clearly and fully. I hope his ideas are as inspiring to you as they are to me.

Incidentally, the complete article written by Jaques-Dalcroze can be found in the original French in the two-volume set, Musica Aeterna, published in 1948 under Max Metz. (Interestingly, Jaques-Dalcroze lived from 1865–1950, so the books were published just two years before his passing.) The books focused on the countries of France, Belgium, and Switzerland, and they contain a comprehensive collection of articles edited by Gottfried Schmid. Schmid aimed to provide a musical resource with diverse perspectives and portraits concerning Western art music throughout history. The information below was taken from pages 1–10 of volume II. With great excitement, I began translating his words into English seventy-five years after Jaques-Dalcroze’s death.

I would like to extend the most heartfelt thanks to Diplômés Karin Greenhead of England and Laetitia Disseix-Berger of France, who offered invaluable aid in the translations presented here: Jaques-Dalcroze’s words are in French in the left column, and on the right is an English translation. I also would like to extend gratitude to Soazig Mercier, head librarian at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, who was most helpful in obtaining the original source material for this article. My intention was to give a direct translation of the text, and, when it might be useful, I’ve included some contextual support of my own in brackets and italics. Jaques-Dalcroze did not number these examples in the original article, but for ease of reference, I have numbered them here. Enjoy!