Our People
Barbara Schneider-Serio
Artistic Director
A 1983 graduate of Eurythmy Spring Valley, Barbara studied with many of the first generation of eurythmists from Dornach, Switzerland, such as Christel Custer, Sissy Pracht, Elise van Lennep, and Dorothea Mier. Barbara returned to ESV in 1988 to perform and teach. With the Ensemble she has developed over thirty programs, from tales for young children to elaborate evening programs, and performed throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, and China. In 2005, Barbara took on the leadership of both the performing ensemble and the professional training. Among many highlights, Barbara performed in the 2012 symphonic centenary celebration of eurythmy.
Dorothea Mier
Artistic Director Emeritus
Born in England in 1932, Dorothea Mier was educated at the Elmfield and Michael Hall Waldorf schools and the Birmingham School of Music, where she studied piano and graduated ARCM, ABSM. She studied eurythmy at the Lea van der Pals School in Dornach, Switzerland, going on to teach there for seventeen years. During that time, she was a member of the Goetheanum Stage Group under Marie Savitch, preeminent eurythmist and director. In 1980, Dorothea became the Artistic Director of Eurythmy Spring Valley, carrying the work there for 25 years until 2005, when she retired and became free for giving workshops worldwide. Dorothea continues to teach classes and give workshops at ESV.
Eurythmists
Emily Biffis
Eurythmist
Born in Gubbio, Italy, Emily grew up in Kimberton, Pennsylvania, where she was first introduced to eurythmy through the local Waldorf school. After studying Italian literature in college, Emily attended and graduated from Eurythmy Spring Valley’s School of Eurythmy, then became a member of the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble. A resident of Chestnut Ridge, NY, Emily also teaches and works for Endeavor 21+, a foundation in the Threefold community that offers educational, vocational, and life skills opportunities to young adults.
Colleen Foglia
Eurythmist
Colleen trained at the Schule für Eurythmische Art und Kunst Berlin, including a semester with her corresponding year at Eurythmy Spring Valley. After completing her training in 2020, Colleen joined the West Midlands Eurythmy Stage Group (January 2021-July 2022) where she was engaged in various programs that toured primarily around the UK. Eager to continue working artistically, Colleen joined the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble in fall 2022. She has a BFA in creative arts therapy (Endicott College) and trained in anthroposophical art therapy at the Gemeinshaftskrankenhause Herdeck in Germany. Colleen also works as an art therapist at the Otto Specht School.
Virginia Hermann
Eurythmist
A graduate of the Austin (TX) Waldorf School and Wesleyan University, Virginia developed an early passion for eurythmy in Markus and Andrea Weder’s High School Eurythmy Troupe and Eurythmy Summer Academies. Virginia rejoined the Weders in 2008 as a student in the new im-pulse.eurythmy training in Aesch (Switzerland), Austin, and São Paulo. Virginia completed a one-year Stage Training at Eurythmy Spring Valley in 2012, and earned an MA in Performance Eurythmy from Alanus Hoschule. She became a member of the ESV Ensemble in 2013 and joined the faculty of the School of Eurythmy in 2018. Virginia appeared as Lucifer in the 2014 Threefold Mystery Drama Group production of Rudolf Steiner’s four mystery dramas.
Cameron MacArthur
Eurythmist
Cameron first met eurythmy at the Austin (TX) Waldorf School, followed by three Eurythmy Summer Academies with Markus and Andrea Weder. In 2011, Cameron graduated from the Weders’ im-pulse.eurythmy training. He then moved to New York to attend the Fifth-Year Postgraduate course and the Stage Training course at Eurythmy Spring Valley while completing his BA in Eurythmy through the Norwegian College of Eurythmy in Oslo. Cameron has toured and performed with the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble (2013-18, 2022-present) and the Faust Eurythmy Ensemble of Switzerland (2019-22). Cameron holds an MA in Performance Eurythmy from Alanus Hochschule (Germany).
Natasha Moss
Eurythmist
Natasha was born in Montreal and met anthroposophy and eurythmy in her early twenties. She attended Emerson College and afterward went to Dornach, at first to study in the Speech and Drama course given by Virginia Brett. While there, she saw eurythmy almost every week on the Goetheanum stage. These performances were compelling experiences and led her to join the Zuccoli Eurythmy Training. She realized after an exciting year that she needed to do her training in the English language, so she finished her training at Eurythmy Spring Valley with Dorothea Mier. Afterwards, she was fortunate to spend 3 years in the stage group, continuing to learn from Dorothea.
Wei Rung
Eurythmist
Born in Taiwan, Wei first encountered eurythmy at Ci-Xin Waldorf school in Yilan, Taiwan. After high school, Wei moved to Berlin, Germany in 2015 to start her eurythmy training at Schule für Eurythmische Art und Kunst. There she experienced Dorothea Mier as a visiting teacher. After completing her training in 2019, she joined the Faust Eurythmy Ensemble of Switzerland (2019-22), and was engaged in various artistic eurythmy projects in Switzerland. She attended the postgraduate course at Eurythmy Spring Valley in 2021-22, and has been a member of the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble since then.
Sea-Anna Vasilas
Eurythmist
A graduate of the School of Eurythmy at Eurythmy Spring Valley, Sea-Anna has been a member of the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble since 2011 and a member of the School of Eurythmy faculty since 2012. She leads public eurythmy courses and workshops within the contexts of biodynamic agriculture, Biography and Social Art, the Christian Community Church, and the Anthroposophical Society in North America. Sea-Anna is inspired by artistic collaborations with musicians and actors, and is currently working on developing a eurythmy program based on the story of Bip, inspired by Marcel Marceau. She holds an MA in Performance Eurythmy from Alanus Hochschule (Germany).
Maria Ver Eecke
Therapeutic Eurythmist
Therapeutic eurythmist Maria Ver Eecke holds a diploma from the Medical Section of the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, and is certified by AnthroMed. In July 2022 she joined the faculty of Kairos Institute, Waldorf Pedagogy for Traumatized Children. Previously, Maria taught eurythmy for forty years in Waldorf schools, at a state-funded independent school, and in a home-school program; she was also a class teacher in the Maseru English Medium Preparatory School in southern Africa. Currently Maria edits the newsletters of the Eurythmy Association of North America and the Association of Therapeutic Eurythmy in North America; she can be reached at editor@eana.org.
MUSICIANS - SPEAKERS - lighting
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Pianist
Ksenia was trained at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she earned a BA (1995) and an MA in Piano and Choir Conducting (1997). A seasoned teacher, accompanist, and conductor, Ksenia has served as accompanist and choir conductor of the Male Choir of St. Petersburg, Russia (1995-2012), and music director and chief choir conductor at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in New York City (since 1998).
Jennifer Kleinbach
Speech Artist
Jennifer Kleinbach teaches speech for the School of Eurythmy, Sunbridge Institute, and the Fiber Craft Studio. She also coordinates community speech ensembles for local festival performances. Jennifer received her Speech Formation diploma from the Speech School of North America and her Eurythmy diploma from Eurythmy Spring Valley’s School of Eurythmy. She has toured with Eurythmy Spring Valley’s stage ensemble as a eurythmist and speaker, and performed in Threefold community productions of Rudolf Steiner’s mystery dramas (2007, 2012-14). Jennifer holds a BA in classical languages from Haverford College and an MA in medieval studies from the University of Notre Dame.
Yelena Kuzmenko
Pianist
A native of Ukraine, Yelena Kuzmenko received her master’s degree from the prestigious Kharkov (Ukraine) Conservatory and was for 25 years a professor at the Kharkov Music College. For more than 15 years she has taught at the Rockland (New York) Conservatory of Music, where she has successfully prepared more than 200 students for Royal Conservatory of Music exams in piano, theory, and harmony. Former students of Yelena’s perform and teach in Sweden, Morocco, Germany, Italy, the USA, Russia, and Ukraine. She has been featured with international singing stars in recordings and concerts and with Spanish flamenco dancers.
Barbara Renold
Speech Artist
Barbara Renold trained in speech and drama at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, and the Harkness Studio in Sydney, Australia. As the speech and drama teacher at Sunbridge College (1983-2007), she directed many student productions. Barbara has directed two full cycles of Rudolf Steiner’s mystery dramas, culminating in the August 2014 Mystery Drama Festival at the Threefold community, in which all four dramas were presented by one cast in repertory for the first time in the English-speaking world. Barbara holds a BA in math from Douglas College and two MA’s in elementary education, and is the co-founder of the Steiner School of Speech Arts.
Grigory Smirnov
Pianist
Born and raised in Siberia, Grigory Smirnov studied at the Novosibirsk Music College and Novosibirsk State Conservatory in Russia before moving to the United States in 2009 to pursue graduate studies at Juilliard. A composer as well as a pianist, Grigory’s music has been performed worldwide on major stages, including Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, the Tanglewood Festival, and Moscow Philharmonic Society. His album Dowson Songs • Chaconne was released on CD by Naxos Records in 2016. Grigory performs classical, contemporary, and improvisational music. He joined Eurythmy Spring Valley in 2019, performing for eurythmy and teaching music classes.
Gino Ver Eecke
Lighting Technician
A native of Roeselare, Belgium, Gino received his diploma from Eurythmy Spring Valley in 1994. He played Benedictus with the Threefold Mystery Drama Group for eight years, culminating in the historic performance of Rudolf Steiner’s four mystery dramas at Threefold in 2014. During the Mystery Drama Conference at the Goetheanum in July 2018, Gino performed the last scene of The Soul’s Awakening. Gino guides the work of the Threefold Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in Chestnut Ridge, NY, and is the current Eastern Region representative to the General Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America. He is also the President and Treasurer of the Eurythmy Association in North America and has been the principal lighting technician for Eurythmy Spring Valley since 2000.
Administration
Beth Dunn-Fox
Administrative and Development Coordinator
Raised in California, Beth’s life-long interest in the developmental potential of movement grew through education and performing in modern, ballet, and folk/character dance forms. Upon discovering eurythmy she trained at Eurythmy Spring Valley, graduating in 1986, and joined the ESV Ensemble in its inaugural season the same year. She traveled and performed with the Ensemble until 2000, when her family grew larger. With a background in developing financial systems for small nonprofits, she has also been active in the work of carrying ESV administratively since 1988, balanced by working locally on project and festival pieces with the Ensemble and other eurythmy colleagues.
Lily Lucero
Student Services
Lily (Wilma Jean) has taken great delight in eurythmy since 1989, when she saw a solo demonstration, and then a Eurythmeum Stuttgart performance of Peer Gynt where she also met Else Klink! A lifelong student of Rudolf Steiner, Lily has worked with anthroposophy across the disciplines of Waldorf education, eurythmy, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean and esoteric studies, and anthroposophic medicine. She is a member of the Anthroposophical Society, First Class, and Pedagogical Section, and has worked as a Waldorf school class teacher, a biodynamic gardener, and a Waldorf school administrator. She loves spending time with her beautiful daughter Jenny’s three children.
Catherine Rubin
Bookkeeping
Catherine has worked as Financial Services Coordinator for Eurythmy Spring Valley on and off since 2008, when her son Max was attending kindergarten at Green Meadow Waldorf School. When not bookkeeping for ESV, Catherine is teaching early childhood music in nearby Nyack, NY, and playing mantra music at yoga festivals and retreats around the country and internationally.
Marta Stemberger
Publicity and Tour Coordinator
Marta has taught, performed, and lectured on modern dance (1989-99) and eurythmy (since 2014) in the US and her native Slovenia. She holds a BA (Liberal Arts) and MA (Liberal Studies) from the New School (New York City), and is also a graduate of the School of Eurythmy, American Dance Theater’s Ailey School, and the Martha Graham School. From 2012 to 2014, Marta served as stage manager for the Threefold Mystery Drama Group’s productions of Rudolf Steiner’s mystery dramas while also performing three acting and two eurythmy roles. Marta offers South Slavic language services through her company, Arinna Inc.