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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 authorized Movements.  (See below for the complete list in the American order.)

 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 1950’s, when Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann, Mrs. Jessmin Howarth, 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 Salzmann’s 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. Howarth’s suggestions to instructors, artist’s drawings and charts, etc.

          Also being scanned onto CD for preservation 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.                    

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 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. (In addition to the Obligatories, these include “Work Dances,” various round and women’s 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.

          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 Gurdjieff’s 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.” These exercises may be helpful to students if presented by an experienced instructor in the right way at an appropriate moment, but they aren’t from Mr. Gurdjieff and they aren’t Movements.