Méta-couleur is a unique training in Belgium that invites us to explore and deepen our knowledge about ourselves, the other and of this reality, so that each one can explore the place he/she occupies in it and can bloom freely and responsibly. The signs of the zodiac, the planets and the colors are major themes that serve as guidelines.
Eurythmy is an art form that aims to make objective elements and laws of the world visible through the movement of the human body, by expressing gestures, colors and shapes in space, accessing the inner soul by touching these non-material realities. Through the movement of this codified language, a kind of art and spirit of the movement, each person explores his or her own way of connecting with this realm. Eurythmy was developed at the dawn of the turmoil of the First World War, a time of fragility, in the midst of a cultural, social and political revolution that was challenging what was inherited from the past. New sources of inspiration and new rules were sought in all fields. Eurythmy is mostly unknown in French-speaking countries, it is much more widely practiced in Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway and in all regions of the world where the Waldorf pedagogy has been implanted.
Méta-Couleur is a unique training program in Belgium: the first training program to have the audacity to mix eurythmy and art therapy and the first eurythmy training program in Belgium. In August 2021, it will enter its fifth year. The program offers a range of artistic, therapeutic, philosophical and scientific tools to promote creativity, self-expression and ethical awareness through the exploration of the zodiac, the body, the planets and colors. Supervised by a dozen teachers from Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland, the training is spread over two years. Each year, 7 weekends of classes in Brussels and a full week in the countryside in the summer, in addition to a 4-day trip, invite participants to join workshops in modeling, painting, singing, drawing and other means of expression, coupled with a way of moving based on eurythmy.
“In anthroposophy, explains Sylvie Planche, the initiator of the project, “we find the idea of transformation, an invitation to become aware that everything around us is a process. Eurythmy and anthroposophy bridge the gap between the unconscious and the conscious, between the spiritual and the material. The colors, planets and stars serve as a guiding principles, because of their universality, and connect with the laws of nature and the development of a human life up until the corresponding organs in the body. Why talk about planets and stars? On closer examination, it seems that there is no sense in starting anywhere else. The forces of planetary motion govern all that is movement in us, while the stars govern form. The energies of the zodiac, for example, radiate to us and give us form. We discover the link of each color with a gesture, a sound, an organ, a plant, a metal, a planet, a note, a tale. We dance the planets, the signs of the zodiac, the sounds, the colors, the shapes, the feelings. It is a social art that teaches us to be together, to move together, to create together and to develop patience, to listen and be respectfull.”
Sylvie Planche initiated the creation of the school, where she coordinates and organizes things with creativity and fervor and acts as a bridge between the teachers and the students: “I am an Aquarian. In eurythmy, it is the only sign that is in motion: it is a link in essence.” Born into a family involved in anthroposophy, Sylvie has a multidimensional background. The multiple hats she has worn during her international career (classical and contemporary dance, tap, cabaret and jazz, body percussionist, choreographer and yoga teacher) have left her with a chameleon-like side that juggles with life. When she felt the need to give more meaning to her art, she decided to found an anthroposophical art school at home in Belgium with the support of her mother Vivianne Olbregts, Mia Lemaitre, eurythmist and Xavier De Keyser, teacher and co-creator of several Waldorf schools. “As I passed the age of 30, I began to feel a turning inside, with a deep questioning about what I give to the world and in what way, a need to deliver something unique. This work of understanding the hidden laws of nature fascinates me. I am fortunate to be able to do this with the help and knowledge of my mother and brilliant teachers around me. My mother is an Antroposophical physician and her approach is very lively. She knows how to modernize and put fluidity into this ancient knowledge.”
This training attracts dancers and artists and is for the widest possible audience, anyone in personal evolution who wants to give more meaning and depth to their art, their pedagogy, their creation, their life. About twenty students answered the call of the first two editions: “they are the ones who want to go further, they ask questions and wish to dig deeper into the different subjects. We are receiving great feedback from our participants, people are delighted to follow this program. Everyone resonates in their own way and everyone discovers a little more with each major topic covered. This training is an opportunity to grow together. It is a project that is ethical, open and rooted in wanting to reach out. During the weekends, we generally address a major theme with a guest who brings his or her specialty (music, singing, art therapy, storytelling and so on) and who takes charge of the two-day program. Some weekends are very moving, very strong. With this project, I feel that I have the wind in my back, that the project is supported by something beyond us. It’s a ground on which I feel we can build strong, solid internal changes.”
Every year, Méta-Couleur goes on a trip, alternating between two destinations: Chartres Cathedral and the Goetheanum. The Goetheanum is the headquarters of the Universal Anthroposophical Society and is built on the hill of Dornach, 10 km south of Basel, Switzerland. It has an organic architecture (all angles are rounded, for example). As for Chartres Cathedral, created on the foundations of a pagan temple, it is the perfect setting for an observation of architectural design in harmony with what is been learnt at Méta-Couleur. The hill on which it was built is a point of conjunction of particular energy currents. This is the colorful program of this project that invites everyon to deepen their profound esoteric quest.
Practical information in french on the website meta-couleur.com
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