From Elizabeth Lloyd, "The Story of a Community"
Down from London, every week, came the teacher of Eurhythmics, Desiree Martin. I have named her as she must be internationally known, and known by hundreds of ex-pupils of hers in this country in the dance, music and theatre world, for she later taught at the Royal Ballet School and the Royal College of Music.
I remember vividly my first sight of her; standing talking to Miss Leila in the front hall of The Mote; a big handsome woman with a beautiful speaking voice, always interestingly dressed and with an "air" about her. She was a born teacher - she was vivacious, amusing and with an endless flow of racy, wittily-told anecdotes of the world outside the Community, which appealed to Miss Leila. As far as I know they worked together, in perfect harmony, for nearly thirty years and between them they produced over the years, a series of Biblical plays of an extremely high standard. They were musical plays and they were dramatic and the movement was based on the Jacques Dalcrose method. Miss Leila saw to it that the verse-speaking of the children who took part was all that it should be and Desiree saw to it that the music and movement was all that it should be. She did all the accompanying herself on the piano as well as directing the stage: it was a very considerable feat. These plays were performed at the Rudolph Steiner Hall in London and later, when the Community went back to Kent after the war, some were produced at the Community itself and one was performed in the Chapter House of Canterbury Cathedral.
The future Music Teachers at the Community were Dalcrose students known to Desiree Martin.
In those far-off days all the children from the youngest to the oldest were taught Eurhythmics. I attended all the classes of my group in order to remove anyone who was not prepared to be taught and who made it impossible for the rest to be: I would lead the offender away, who went with much protest. The little boys wore black bathing trunks and the little girls small scarlet tunics: they all danced with bare feet, which must have been very good for the feet. The senior girls, predictably, in the main liked and enjoyed their class but some of the senior boys jibbed at pirouetting round the Library in bathing trunks and bare feet - some of them managed to give it up altogether although Miss Leila never saw any reason why they should, but others, who were musical and interested, learnt to do the most intricate and highly skilled beating of time: they also took part in the Plays and provided many a star-turn. Desiree Martin and Miss Leila also produced excellent Nativity plays each Christmas. I thought Dalcrose Eurhythmics provided a very good basic musical training with its emphasis on rhythm and correct beating and proper note-value.