What is the Gurdjieff Work?

The term „Gurdjieff Work“ refers to the inner work of a person who follows the path of the Fourth Way. Someone who is part of a Gurdjieff group not only learns the various tools of the spiritual school, but also shares in the knowledge that is passed down from generation to generation within the respective lineage.

Who was Georgi Ivanovich Gurdjieff?

G. I. Gurdjieff was an Armenian-Greek composer, spiritual master, writer, and teacher of so-called temple dances. Gurdjieff was presumably born in 1866 in what was then Alexandropol, the son of a well-known ashok – a singer of traditional folk songs. Gurdjieff’s mother was Armenian.

What is the Fourth Way?

Gurdjieff himself described his teaching as the „Fourth Way“ – a kind of essence of the three age-old spiritual paths of the yogi, the monk, and the fakir. While the other paths focus respectively on one center of the human being, the Fourth Way seeks to develop and harmonize all three centers simultaneously.

What type of dances are the Movements?

G. I. Gurdjieff’s Movements cannot be assigned to any common dance form. They can be classified as group dances, whereby all dancers share the music or a common rhythmn.

What is the origin of Gurdjieff’s Sacred Dances?

Gurdjieff and other seekers of truth undertook a series of investigations over many years in numerous Eastern countries. In the course of their research, they encountered oriental dances of varying types and meanings. Some of the dances originated in monasteries or spiritual centers of various religions. Others are folkloric in nature. The exact origins of the individual dances cannot be determined. What is certain is that some of them are centuries, if not millennia, old and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Do the Movements serve a specific purpose?

In this form, the dances have a completely different meaning than the one we often ascribe to them in our modern Western world. While Western civilizations pass on their wisdom through books, art – like these Sacred Dances – served in antiquity to convey higher knowledge and religious wisdom.

Is there a choreography?

Each Movement has a unique choreography. Depending on the Movement, the choreography can be the same for all dancers or vary. The bodily gestures, postures and foot patterns are demonstrated by the teacher and rehearsed step by step by the class in our Movements seminars.

Does the group position itself in a certain formation?

At the beginning of a Movement, the dancers position themselves into rows, consisting each of six people. Each participant is assigned a fixed position in the formation, which it does not leave or only leave temporarily during the course of the dance. The respective column in which the dancer is located is also important in Gurdjieff’s Movements.

Where does the music for Gurdjieff’s Movements come from?

The Movements are accompanied by a pianist on the piano, making use of traditional compositions by Gurdjieff and his students or improvising. The interaction between pianist, teacher and dancers is crucial for the energetic level of the group.

What’s the relation between the individual dancer and the group?

Each participant is seen as part of a larger whole. The dancer is a small cog within a superordinate machinery. The participants‘ tasks are to mobilize their own capacities in order to meet the complex requirements of the Gurdjieff Movements regarding precision, relaxation, momentum and rhythm.