Part-time Courses
Bothmer Gymnastics
[The description below is for the course that is periodically offered, the last occuring in 2008]
Third course of Bothmer Gymnastics in Australia, 2nd - 11th July 2008 at
Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School.
When Steiner founded The Waldorf School in Stuttgart for Emil Molt’s cigarette factory
workers’ children, he asked Graf Bothmer, a physical education instructor for the
German Army, to develop a movement training that met the developmental needs of the
Human Being as Steiner describes in Study of Man and other Anthroposophical
literature.
Steiner advised Graf to start with a study of Greek gymnastics as practiced by the
initiates at the time of Euphasis. Graf became a teacher in the school and Bothmer
gymnastics was an established subject by 1920.
Essential reading prior to the course is A Modern Art of Education by Rudolf Steiner.
Brochure pdf (84KB)
We
are delighted to host the third course of the Bothmer Gymnastics in Australia.
This is a continuation on from the inaugural Bothmer Course
held at Mt. Barker in July 2007 and the
second Bothmer Course held in Bellingen in January 2008.
At the Mt. Barker conference 22 participants enthusiastically demanded more training,
which was carried out in Bellingen. By then our numbers had increased to 38 with many
new students. New students are also welcome to attend this course at Melbourne. This
training is specifically for teachers who are seriously interested in bringing Bothmer
Gymnastics to children in some form. They must be physically capable and interested in
movement per se.
The course will run for 10 days starting Wednesday 2nd July, 8.00 am and finishing at
5.00 pm on Friday 11th July (Saturday 5th is a free day).
A 4 day intensive course will be held for those students who attended the Mt. Barker
course. This will run Monday the 7th - Thursday 10th July. Concurrent to this the
remaining students will be studying with Tom Hungerford-Gerth.
The venue will be the Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School, 213 Wonga Road, Warranwood,
All enquiries to: Tricia Martin & Tom Hungerford, Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School, phone:
03 9844 8411, email: info@mrss.com.au Fax: 03 9879 0820 attention Tricia or Tom.
Accommodation:
The Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School will provide a number of class rooms to camp in,
those attending will need to bring their own sleeping bag and bed roll (we have tumbling
mats but not enough to supply everyone with a mattress).
Our dining room, with industrial stove, fridge and dishwasher, should easily provide
adequate facilities for all our cooking needs.
The showers in the gym are in excellent condition and freely available.
The school is asking a fee of $10 per person for the 10 days of the course.
Arrival Details: Melbourne Airport is a long way from the school. We recommend you catch
the airport bus to Ringwood (check to see if you need to book). We can
arrange to pick you up from Ringwood Station (two shuttles, am and pm to
be arranged).
Cost of the course is $180 ($190 if using school accommodation)
Students: $120 ($130 if using school accommodation)
Payments to:
Melbourne Rudolf Steiner Seminar
37A Wellington Park Drive, Warranwood, 3134
Payment can be made by
Cheque or credit card.
About Dan Freeman
I studied the gym in Stuttgart with a student of Graf in 1976 and taught the
gymnastics continuously until 2003, the last 24 years in Taikura Rudolf Steiner School,
Hastings, NZ.
I also had the privilege of working with the Hohepa residents, the Anthroposophical
curative homes in Hawkes Bay, NZ, a time of great fun and very intense learning for all
concerned but I suspect I received far more than I gave!
Experience has shown me that we have a remarkable tool in the gymnastic curriculum, a
tool that is desperately needed in all our schools. No other subject so directly
addresses the incarnation difficulties confronting the modern child. Bothmer counters
the elitist, competitive world of ‘Sports’ that substitutes for Physical Education and if
brought in the right way, the children love it! This is a medicine that does not need
sugar!
My aim is to pass on as much of my experience and knowledge as I can to teachers in our
schools who have the enthusiasm, courage and commitment to carry this subject into
their classes and/or schools. The concept of a certificated training is not the priority
and I do not feel I have the time to ‘create’ gymnasts. Trained teachers are the intended
targets; to work with whatever experience/background they have is the challenge! The
raw ingredients are a love of movement, courage and desire to teach this subject, to
work with and deepen the insights of Steiner’s pedagogy. The aim of the course is to give
the basic knowledge and practical exercises to step into the class room and start. Most
of the learning will then really begin!
I commit to being there to consult, advise by e-mail or postal mail if necessary and
hopefully, finances permitted, visit you in the class rooms to assist first hand.
About Tom Hungerford-Gerth
As a youth I studied Classical Ballet, Jazz, Character Dance and Martha Graham.
Principally at the Australian Academy of Ballet and the Australian Ballet School. I then
worked for a number of years with various companies. The Queensland Ballet Company,
Dance Concert, Busy Bodies and Kolobok Folkloric Dance Company.
Later I became interested in circus skills and became a juggler, stilt walker, tumbler, rope
dancer and whip-cracker. Always asking why do we enjoy watching a juggler, a tumbler or
a dancer?
I studied Tai Chi and Tae Kwon Do and was fascinated by movements not having their
initial impulse in the muscle. In 1993-4 I went to Heidenheim, Germany, with my family,
to study Bothmer gymnastics. This was a great act of faith (my faith was well and truly
rewarded) as I was not absolutely sure I understood what Bothmer gymnastics was. I
have immersed myself in Bothmer gymnastics these past years and have seen how it can
be used pedagogically, remedially, in sports and drama. I have found it works towards
gaining valuable insights into movement and space which answer many of the questions I
have asked.
