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As we launch this website, we invite those of you who are or have been responsible for Movements
as experienced or beginning instructors and pianists to send us your thoughts, comments,
and questions at the email address shown below. In the spirit of fostering an open exchange
we may share part or all of them here-- unless you ask us not to.
In the meantime, here is the opening message:
* * * * *
PRESERVING MOVEMENTS AS MR. GURDJIEFF ORIGINALLY GAVE THEM TO US
by Dushka Howarth
Part 1
Of the several hundred Movements created and experimented with by Mr. Gurdjieff in the last
ten years of his life, only a small percentage did he consider to be complete and evidently to
fulfill his aim so that he then gave us permission to continue working with them. The so-
called Thirty -Nine Movements are those he finished and authorized for continued use in
France and another seven he added when we worked with him in New York during his last
visit.
These forty-six authorized movements are what we are particularly concerned with preserving for
the future. The American order is the exact order in which Mr. Gurdjieff gave them to us in
New York before his death in 1949. Therefore we consider it to be of more significance for
teaching the Movements than the French order, which simply reflects the order in which
these Movements were completed and does not include seven of the authorizedMovements. (See below for the complete list in the American order.)
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In addition to our own memories, experience and notations, we depend on the valuable notes made
by Jessmin Howarth and Alfred Etievant working together in New York in 1949. These were
made in response to instructions left by Mr. Gurdjieff before he returned to France that:
Movements must be the same in America as in Europe.
An even more important documentation is the set of definitive notes resulting from many
summers of work in the 1950s, when Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann, Mrs. Jessmin H owarth, and
Mlle. Marthe de Gaigneron joined forces in Paris to pool their memories and notations,
reconcile differences, and to correct mistakes made in the first (1951) Movements film.
Mrs. Howarth transcribed this work into English and arranged for it to be typed out in New York.
One copy was sent to Mme. de Salzmann in France. The other was confided to the New York
Foundation for ready reference by their Movements instructors.
When Mrs. Howarth died in 1984 it was discovered that these New York notes had disappeared and
could not be found even after an extensive search was made! And sadly for the future
neither have Mme. de Salzmanns copies surfaced!
So with great effort, we have had to try reconstituting from handwritten and carbon copies as
much as possible of these irreplaceable and invaluable notations. But we alert Movements
"responsibles" everywhere that we need help in completing this essential task.
The material located so far is being transferred onto CD for safe and practical storage,
immediate reference and long-term preservation along with verifying photographs and other
unique material, such as Mrs. Howarths suggestions to instructors, artists drawings and
charts, etc.
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Also being scanned onto CD for pre servation and storage is definitive material on the Six
Obligatories. Carefully noted by Mrs. Howarth as part of her dedication to preserving as
many as possible of the earliest Movements (those given circa 1917-1924,) this collection
includes notations, photographs, historical information, and helpful material for instructors
and musicians, such as special hints for beginners classes, inhibition exercises for advanced
pupils, and corrected music.
Although we do not give out copies of these or other materials, they are available for study. We may
also consider correcting notations, viewing videos, answering questions, or otherwise
helping those responsibly engaged in passing on the Movements in their correct context. By
this we mean, as a part of a complete integrated practice of the Gurdjieff Teaching in all its
aspects.
* * * * *
Part 2
As each year passes we find there is more confusion about the authenticity, authorship, and exact
intended purpose of many exercises presented as Gurdjieff Movements or Sacred
Dances. Perhaps we can help by clarifying some of the differences.
Early Movements. The entire repertoire worked on so intensively during the years 1917-1924,
culminating in the public demonstrations in Paris in 1923, and various U.S. cities in 1924. (Inaddition to the Obligatories, these include Work Dances, various round and womens
dances, Dervish Prayers, and much more).
The Thirty -Nine. The forty-six Movements which Gurdjieff created in the last years of his life,
finally announced as completed, and gave permission to people to continue to work
with. These consist of thirty -nine finalized in France and another seven added in New York.
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Other Movements. Scores of other Movements were experimented with and worked on but
left uncompleted by Mr. Gurdjieff in his second period of renewed Movements activity, from
about 1939-49. At this time his primary aim was no longer to use Movements in a public
display to attract people to his Work. Now he had groups of serious pupils for whom he was
trying to develop and prove out useful tools for their special Work. Usually referred to by
names such as Multiplication, Pythagoras, Prayer, and Enneagram, many of these
were later used in elaborate films made by Mme. de Salzmann during her long life. In a first
film in 1951, she concentrated on preserving the completed Movements most of the
Thirty -nine and some of the Early Movements. In subsequent films, she included many of
the other Movements that had not been completed or for which Mr. G. had not decided a
final form. Although usually beautifully executed by handsome young dancers, many of
whom are our present-day instructors, the Movements shown in these later films must
clearly be viewed and evaluated differently from Gurdjieffs meticulously completed
creations. Unfortunately, these Movements and the composite suites of Movements and
fragments, which Mme. de Salzmann put together in the films, are now often given
precedence in class repertoires and even taught more frequently than the older, pure
Movements.
Preparatory Exercises. Mme. De Salzmann and various others created many preparatory
exercises throughout the years. Some have been practiced so frequently that they have
been given names, and are believed to be Movements. Some examples: Father -I, I Am -I
Wish- I Can Work, Om -Im-Am- Um, Blue -Red-Black- Yellow, Two Rhythms, I Wish -I
Am-Always- Everywhere. T hese exercises may be helpful to students if presented by an
experienced instructor in the right way at an appropriate moment, but they arent from Mr.
Gurdjieff and they arent Movements.
* * * * *
Part 3
GURDJIEFF'S LATER MOVEMENTS ('39-'49)
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(THOSE HE AUTHORIZED US "TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH.")
(List per Jessmin and Dushka Howarth)
AMER # FRENCH # (Names sometimes used later by others, not Mr. G.)
1 19 STOP or WHEEL
2 5 POINTING DERVISH
3 2 PRAYER IN 4 PARTS
4 30 CANON OF 6 MEASURES
5 31 RHYTHMS
6 No Fr. # AMERICAN MARCH
7 No Fr. # AMERICAN. "I WISH TO BE"
8 16 RUNNING or SEAGULL
9 18 BODY CIRCLING
10 10 PERSIAN DANCE
11 17 MULTIPLICATION
12 13 ANCIENT WALTZ or PERSIAN WALTZ
13 12 "ALLELUIA"
14 1 COUNTING AUTOMATON
15 23 MAZURKA
16 32 AUTOMATON NOTE VALUES
17 24 SHARSSE VARSSE
18 11 "LORD HAVE MERCY"
19 27 CANON TO TWELVE
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20 8 RUNNING SIX POSITIONS
21 3 TABLEAUX
22 21 REMORSE
23 No Fr. # AMERICAN MULTIPLICATION
24 No Fr. # AMERICAN MULTIPLICATION or "I AM"
25 14 BREAST BEATING DERVISH
26 No Fr. # SLOW MORSE OR AMERICAN MORSE
27 4 PRAYER FOR INSTRUCTION or HOP
28 6 CANON
29 15 "LUNDI, MARDI," etc.
30 7 WOMEN'S DANCE
31 9 OLBOGMEK
32 20 DERVISH or TRAMPING
33 22 MARCH
34 25 BLACK & WHITE MAGIC
35 & bis 26 & bis CUTTING MULTIPLICATION
36 28 MACHINE GROUP
37 No Fr. # ENGLISH TURNING
38 No Fr. # SECOND ENGLISH
39 29 OLD 39
40 33 COSMIC RHYTHM
41 34 MULTIPLICATION
42 35 MARCH
43 36 CANON OF LEFT ARM
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44 37 DANCE
45 38 TWICE SIX
46 39 MEDITATION
********
In the Spring 2002 Issue of the Gurdjieff International Review.
Remember Inner Work by Jessmin Howarth
Jessmin Howarth reviews the history of movements in Gurdjieffs groups and hints at some
discoveries that the practice of the movements can provide...
Created by for Gurdjieff Heritage Society, Inc ~ Copyright 2006 ~ Dushka Howarth, President ~ New
York ~ All Rights Reserved ~
Email The Society
Photographs on this website appear in Jessmin & Dushka Howarth's Book "It's Up To Ourselves" A
Mother, A Daughter, and GURDJIEFF
Music Library Index
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