The Cecchetti Method
The Cecchetti method of ballet training is a
rigorous system with careful regard for the laws of anatomy, designed to endow
the body with all the qualities essential to the dancer... balance, poise,
strength, elevation, elasticity, and so forth. The student is taught to
think of the movement of the foot, leg, arm, and head, not as something apart,
but in its relation to the whole body, which develops a definite feeling for
line.These qualities are naturally not the monopoly of
the Cecchetti Method; they are the ideal of every school of training. But
the Cecchetti Method differs from those other schools in the endeavor to reduce
the dancer's training to an exact science, by imposing a formula evolved over
years of preparing boys and girls of many nationalities to become dancers, to
knead and shape their bodies to bear the strains and trails of public appearance
and to fit their muscles and tendons and nerves to respond readily to whatever
steps and movements might be required of them by the choreographer.
The imposition of a spartan unalterable regimen,
according to which every day in the working week has its own particular set
exercises, is an essential part of the system. This ensures that different types
of steps are infallibly practiced in a planned sequence, stretching and
contracting each set of muscles in turn and to a carefully calculated degree.
Each exercise is executed to the left as well as to the right, beginning one
side one week, and the other the next. The cumulative effect of such
exercises carried out in the prescribed manner is definite.
Cecchetti laid down that it is more important to
execute and exercise correctly once, than to do it a dozen times carelessly.
Quality, therefore, rather than quantity is the guiding rule. The
Cecchetti Method is classic in its purity and clear-cut style; it is classic in
its strenuous opposition to all extravagance and fussiness of movement; it is
classic in its insistence on the importance of line.
The complete Cecchetti Method includes a very
full vocabulary of movement, including nearly forty "adages" composed by
Ceccchetti himself for the development and maintenance of balance and poise in
every conceivable position and in every type of movement, the body being
supported on either leg. The eight "Ports de Bras" or exercises to develop the
graceful movement and coordination of the arms, are generally admitted to be
unsurpassed.
The prime purpose of the Cecchetti Method is that
the student shall not learn to dance by trying to imitate the movements executed
by his teacher as a model for him to follow, but shall learn to dance by
studying and imbibing the basic principles which govern the art; in short, to
grow and develop from within, to become completely self-reliant.
One final point; although Cecchetti insisted upon
strict adherence to his program of daily practice, he invariably advocated that
the lesson of the day should be followed by studying unseen steps composed by
the teacher in order to develop the student's powers in "quick study" and her
ability to assimilate new steps and new "enchantments."
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 Enrico Cecchetti: Student
Enrico Cecchetti was born in a dressing room of a
theatre in Rome on the 21st of June, 1850. Young Enrico's stage debut occurred
as an infant in his father's arms. Although his parents wanted for him a career
in business or law, Enrico was determined to be a dancer and finally convinced
his parents of his great desire and dedication. Trained in the rudiments of
ballet by his father, Enrico was sent for further training to Giovanni Lepri who
prepared accomplished dancers. He also studied with two more of his father's
colleagues, Cesare Coppini, who taught at the prestigious La Scala in Milan, and
Filippo Taglioni, father of the celebrated ballerina, Marie Taglioni. All of
Cecchetti's teachers had been trained by Carlo Blasis. This early training
created a background for Enrico Cecchetti's method of teaching following the
lines of Blasis' own theory. Blasis had codified his teaching methods in the
book Traite Elementaire, Technique et Practise de Art de la Danse,
published in 1820.Enrico Cecchetti: Professional Dancer
Cecchetti began
touring Europe in his late teens, and at age 20 had his debut on the stage of La
Scala in Milan. He was an instant success! Throughout his career, he received
rave reviews and accolades and was considered the finest male dancer of his
time. At the height of his career, he migrated to St. Petersburg. While
performing in Russia, he captivated his audiences with brilliant feats of
batterie, amazing leaps, and multiple pirouettes. He was hired to perform as
Premier Danseur, to be Maitre de Ballet with the Maryinsky Ballet and
to teach at the Imperial Ballet School (1887-1902). So prodigious was his
technique and his gifts for mime that he created and performed the virtuoso role
of the Blue Bird and the mime role of Carabosse in the premiere of Petipa's
The Sleeping Beauty in 1890.
Maestro Cecchetti: Teacher
Cecchetti taught at the Imperial School in St.
Petersburg from 1887-1902, and from 1902-1905 he taught in Poland at the Warsaw
State School. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1905, he established a school
there. From 1907-1909, he taught Anna Pavlova exclusively until dancers from the
Maryinsky pleaded with him to open his classes to them again. When Diaghilev
wanted his company, the Ballets Russes, to tour, the dancers refused because
they would miss their daily classes with Cecchetti. An astute businessman,
Diaghilev hired Enrico for the dual roles of ballet master and mime. Cecchetti
performed many mime roles which were created expressly for him by choreographers
of the Ballets Russes. Cecchetti's presence in the Diaghilev Ballets Russes was
very important. He was the link between the past and the present, contributing
to the birth of modern classical ballet. In addition to Cecchetti and the
dancers, many other artists worked with the Diaghilev Ballets Russes: painters,
set and costume designers Bakst, Picasso, Cocteau, and Matisse; composers
Debussy, De Falla, Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinksy. The Ballets Russes toured
through Europe, the United States, South America, and Australia. Tired of
touring, Cecchetti settled in London, England where he opened a school to which
dancers flocked. Considered the technical lodestar of the ballet world, it was
said that no one could become a finished ballet dancer without passing through
Cecchetti's hands. In 1923, he returned to Italy to retire but was invited by
Arturo Toscanini to resume his teaching career at La Scala, his lifelong dream.
While teaching a class, Cecchetti collapsed and was taken home where he died the
following day, November 13, 1928.
Tradition Continues: Cecchetti's Legacy
Maestro Enrico Cecchetti will always be
remembered through the teaching method he developed which expanded upon the
principles set forth by Carlo Blasis. He learned from the masters; he
assimilated and applied the theories they taught. From his own experiences as a
dancer and a teacher and from his associations with other dancers, artists, and
musicians, he continued to learn, sharing his knowledge and wisdom throughout a
career which spanned nearly eight decades. Cyril Beaumont, a world renowned
dance historian and friend of Cecchetti said, "What impressed me most about the
Cecchetti method of teaching was the way in which each exercise played a
definite and planned part in the student's technical development. There is
nothing haphazard about the system, nothing which depended on the teacher's mood
of the moment. There is a definite plan to daily classes." The method devised by
Maestro Cecchetti was recorded and published in 1922 by Cyril Beaumont with the
help of Idzikowski and Cecchetti, himself. The Manual of Theory and Practice
of Classical Theatrical Dancing (Cecchetti Method) is an excellent source of
information on technique, stance, positions of arms, feet, legs, hands, body,
head, port de bras, adages, etc. Margaret Craske and Fridericka Derra de Moroda
later collaborated with Cyril Beaumont in recording many allegro
enchainements and pirouettes.
Having finished the manual on the Cecchetti
Method, Beaumont decided it would be beneficial to bring together those dancers
in London who had studied with Cecchetti. From this group was founded the
Cecchetti Society in 1922. Its earliest members were Cyril Beaumont, Margaret
Craske, Fridericka. Derra de Moroda, Molly Lake, Jane Forrestier, Dame Marie
Rambert, and Dame Ninette de Valois. Cecchetti and his wife were the first
president and vice president of the Cecchetti Society. From this Society,
branches have developed in all parts of the world.
The legacy of the Cecchetti teachings has
continued to grow. Among the many dancers influenced by Cecchetti were: Anna
Pavlova; Vaslav Nijinksy; Tamara Karsavina; Dame Ninette de Valois and Dame
Marie Rambert (Royal Ballet of England and Ballet Rambert, respectively);
Gisella Caccialanza (New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet); Vincenzo
Celli, Luigi Albertieri, Dame Alicia Markova, and Margaret Craske (Metropolitan
Opera Ballet); Luba Egorova and Olga Preobrajenska (who taught in Paris); Serge
Lifar (Paris Opera Ballet); Betty Oliphant (National Ballet of Canada); Molly
Lake (Ankara Ballet of Turkey); Adolf Bolin (San Francisco Opera Ballet and
Chicago Lyrical Ballet); Mikhail Mordkin (American Ballet Theatre); George
Balanchine (New York City Ballet); Dame Peggy Van Praagh (Australian Ballet);
Dulcie Howes (University of Cape Town, South Africa, also known as C.A.P.A.B.
Ballet Co.). The list is endless. The Cecchetti Council of America, Inc is an
organization with the goal of perpetuating the Cecchetti Method through
seminars, conferences, festivals, examinations, and by providing guidelines and
standards for achievement.
Cecchetti bio reproduced with
permission from
The
Cecchetti Council of America, Inc.
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