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Looking back on 100 Years Bothmer; Looking forward to the Next 100

By Katie Moran, President of ABGA

 I have been a Waldorf Movement Education Teacher for over 2O years, a senior instructor in Spacial Dynamics®, and a certified Bothmer® gymnast and trainer. I wanted to recognize the legacy that Waldorf Schools received from Graf von Bothmer, meet international colleagues, and take classes from those who have carried the Bothmer impulse over the years. So, not speaking a word of German, I packed up my clothes and hopped on a plane to Europe. I was able to participate in the Bothmer celebrations in Lübeck https://bothmer100.eu/en/ and Stuttgart this summer. The Lübeck festivities were directed by bmi (Bothmer Movement International). The Waldorf Teacher Seminar hosted the Stuttgart events. I experienced that the two conferences were very different in character.

In Lübeck, https://bit.ly/3DcI3qL there was a large number of participants who were relatively new to Bothmer gymnastics. One could sense a hunger to meet and learn the Bothmer gymnastics exercises.

I visited classes from 4 different Bothmer teachers: https://bit.ly/3DcI3qL Martin Baker, who accented hand clapping activities that he found supported the Bothmer impulse; Stefan Thilo worked on nuances to refined experiences of exercises; with Jaimen McMillan, we vigorously moved through the Bothmer exercises designed for adolescence; Jessie Delage, from France, represented what she called the Gretl Krause stream in Bothmer.

During the Stuttgart conference, the majority of those who attended were experienced Bothmer gymnasts. Many carried questions about the deeper possibilities of each Bothmer exercise, the different ways of doing the exercises themselves, as well as different techniques of how to teach them. I took classes from Michael Neu and Jaimen McMillan and left with a new appreciation of the old, as well as new ideas to explore creating my own ways of teaching Bothmer.

A very special aspect of the Stuttgart festival was honoring the recent passing of Alheidis von Bothmer, who dedicated the majority of her life to carrying on Bothmer’s work.

Jaimen McMillan, who worked side by side with her for over 20 years at the Bothmer School, shared many photos, memories, and personal insights into Alheidis: her big heart for the students, the depth of her life questions, and her fire for her life task. Alheidis, as a person, seemed to be standing larger than life there in front of us. You could say that Alheidis was a woman who was far ahead of her time, a pioneer whom we women of today can look up to.

Because of my school schedule, I had to cross the Atlantic 4 times in 2 weeks, but looking back, I am very glad I went! The biggest highlight was meeting so many people from all over the world and “recognizing” these colleagues. Though we had never met we knew instinctively that we were working in the same direction.

 It was an honor to represent my US colleagues and the wonderful Bothmer work we do here in North America. By taking part in the 100-year celebrations, it is time to realize that the next 100 years begin now with us.

Celebrating Bothmer 100

at the Spacial Dynamics Institute

This July, the Association for Bothmer Gymnastics in the Americas (AGBA) joined the Spacial Dynamics Institute (SDI) to celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of the work of Graf von Bothmer. Students who had been preparing diligently for years came not only to celebrate Bothmer’s hard work but their own!  They accepted the challenge to take a Bothmer® certification exam. Not everyone passed the exam, but everyone learned a lot and has plenty more to practice after this course.

It was a unique opportunity to study with Jaimen McMillan, who has been teaching Bothmer Gymnastics for 45 years. Jaimen had gone to Germany in the late 1970s to study Bothmer Gymnastics when there were only a handful of direct Bothmer descendants alive. He traveled extensively for several years, searching out and studying directly with several of individuals to whom Graf von Bothmer had given diplomas, as well as their first students.

In a clear, objective way, without prejudice, Jaimen presented 4 different streams of the Bothmer Gymnastics he encountered.  Together we practiced these 4 different streams on each of the exercises and were appreciative to discover what each approach had to offer. Those who were there left grateful, knowing they now had enough to practice, share, and teach to help the Bothmer impulse flow well into the next 100 years!

Katie Moran President of ABGA,

Bothmer® Trainer and Senior Spacial Dynamics® Trainer

2021 Bothmer® Certification and Intensive Review with Jaimen McMillan.

Part I: Friday, July 9, 20217:30 PM to Monday, July 12, 2021 12:00 PM.

Both at Mechanicville, NY and Online.

We have packaged this pair of advanced, intensive modules in twin courses in such a way that you can go through all the Bothmer exercises in the first session, go home and practice for a couple of months, and then come back in the second session to deepen your ability and understanding.

In Part II, we will add the finishing touches. If you choose, you can take a shot at the certification exam.

Bothmer August 2018

Three cheers for the Association for Bothmer Gymnastics in the Americas(ABGA) which recently received its not-for-profit status.

Bothmer August 2018 - Bothmer Gymnastics is thriving in the Americas! 

Two concurrent trainings took place at the Spacial Dynamics Institute in upstate New York during the first week of August: Part 2 of a course to become a Bothmer® Gymnast, and an intensive certification process for those with long-time experience teaching Bothmer Gymnastics to become certified Bothmer Gymnastics® Trainers. The course was taught by Jaimen McMillan, former co-director of the Graf Bothmer Schule für Gymnastik Stuttgart, e.V., and directed by the Board of the Association for Bothmer Gymnastics in the Americas: Katie Moran, Dr. John Takacs, and Michael Lansky.

There were 15 candidates to become Trainers; of these 9 received the status of Bothmer Trainer for the Association for Bothmer Gymnastics in the Americas.The others are well in process. 25 applicants received their diplomas as Bothmer Gymnasts. Below: This wonderful group in SDI's gym; and Katie Moran, ABGA's president, and Dr. John Takacs, vice-president, sign the Bothmer diplomas for ABGA. Congratulations to all who worked so hard to achieve these goals and recognitions! 

ABGA was the diploma granting body for this momentous event.