Tatiana Kisseleff

Tatiana Kisseleff (1881–1970) was born in Warsaw, Poland, to Russian parents. She studied
law in France and later moved to Moscow, where she met and married the painter Nikolai Kisseleff.
The couple became interested in Theosophy, and in 1911 Tatiana met Rudolf Steiner and
Marie von Sivers in Hanover, Germany. Although Tatiana's interests lay in social work, Steiner
directed her toward the art of eurythmy and took her on as a personal student. She studied
eurythmy in Berlin before being invited to Dornach in 1914 to teach eurythmy. She devoted
the rest of her life to practicing and teaching eurythmy.

In the autumn 1912, Rudolf Steiner presented the first eurythmy performance. It
marked the revival—in modern form—of the sacred art of dance, which had been
used in the ancient mysteries to express the movements of stars and planets. In the
years that followed, Steiner and his wife Marie von Sivers further developed eurythmy,
broadening it beyond artistic movement to encompass healing and educational elements.

One pioneer of this new form of movement was the Russian anthroposophist Tatiana
Kisseleff, who became a student of Steiner and later a celebrated eurythmy teacher.

In this remarkable book (available for the first time in English), Kisseleff describes the
spiritual foundation of eurythmy as explored in Rudolf Steiner's lectures and recounts
the instruction she received from him.

This book represents both an eyewitness account of the beginnings of eurythmy and the
record of a deeply personal journey of Tatiana Kisseleff’s efforts to master it. It is
illustrated throughout with photographs, drawings, facsimile reproductions from
notebooks, and posters announcing early eurythmy performances, as well as accounts
of performances of various pieces performed, including Goethe's Faust and Rudolf Steiner's
own mystery dramas.

This fascinating account is for eurythmists and anyone who wants to delve into and
more deeply understand the history and development of eurythmy.