The greatest influence on the development of the Cecchetti method was
Carlo Blasis, a ballet master of the early 19th century. A student and exponent of the traditional French school of ballet, Blasis is credited as one of the most prominent ballet theoreticians and the first to publish a codified technique, the "Traité élémentaire, théorique, et pratique de l'art de la danse" ("Elementary, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Art of the Dance"). Reputedly a very rigorous teacher, Blasis insisted on his students conforming to strict technical principles when learning to dance, a philosophy which Cecchetti learnt from his own teachers, who were all students of Blasis (
Giovanni Lepri,
Cesare Carnesecchi Coppini and
Filippo Taglioni). Consequently, the key characteristic of the Cecchetti method is the adherence to a rigid training regime, designed to develop a virtuoso technique, with the dancer having a complete understanding of the theory behind the movement. The other key influences on the Cecchetti method came from his own professional career as a dancer, which exposed him to many different techniques and styles of ballet. When he began to gain a reputation as a teacher, he experimented with these various styles, fusing the best elements of each to create his own ballet technique and training system, the eponymous Cechetti method. Such was the success of Cecchetti's teaching, he is recognised as one of the key contributors to modern classical ballet, his method credited with significantly improving the teaching of classical ballet throughout Europe. Where previously ballet teaching had been haphazard and reliant on the preferences and style of the individual teacher, the Cecchetti method established the model of standardised teaching which is the basis of all professional ballet teaching today. Initially, Cecchetti passed on his method by teaching it to his pupils and professional dancers, including well known dancers of the early 20th century, such as
Anna Pavlova,
Alicia Markova,
George Balanchine and
Serge Lifar. Many of his students later taught the Cecchetti method, including
Ninette de Valois,
Marie Rambert, Laura Wilson,
Margaret Craske and
Olga Preobrajenska. A number of professional ballet schools have historically used the Cecchetti method, including the
Royal Ballet School,
Rambert Ballet School,
National Ballet School of Canada, and the
Australian Ballet School. In 1922, British writer and dance historian
Cyril W. Beaumont collaborated with Cecchetti and
Stanislas Idzikowski to document the method in print, producing the
Manual of the Theory and Practice of Classical Theatrical Dancing. This continues to be the standard resource for the Cecchetti method throughout the world and it has been replicated in numerous forms, including
Benesh and
Laban notation. The method was further documented by Grazioso Cecchetti, one of Enrico's sons, in his treatise,
Classical Dance. The Cecchetti Society was established by Cyril Beaumont in London in 1922, with Maestro Enrico Cecchetti as its first president, and remained independent until it joined the
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, against the wishes of Enrico Cecchetti, in 1924. Today, the Cecchetti training system is used internationally to teach classical ballet.
Australia The Cecchetti Society was established in Australia in 1934 by Madam Lucie Saronova. The Society grew over the next 51 years while being administered by the Council of Management in Victoria, under the auspices of The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in London. In 1987
The Cecchetti Society of Australia Inc. was formed as an autonomous Australian society under the administration of an elected National Council, composed of members from its state branches. The corporation's head office is located in Melbourne. In 1997 an international organization,
Cecchetti International Classical Ballet, was formed by founding members from Australia, Canada, Italy, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the USA. This organization, which became a non-profit Canadian corporation in 2004, is committed to keeping alive and raising the profile of the Cecchetti method of classical ballet and its training system throughout the world. Today, the Cecchetti method is used at The Australian Ballet School, Victorian College for the Arts, and Queensland School of Excellence, and Xcel Dance Studios in Adelaide, South Australia.
United Kingdom The Cecchetti teaching method was vital in the development of Classical Ballet in the United Kingdom and contributed heavily to modern-day British teaching methods. Enrico Cecchetti and his wife opened a ballet school in London in 1918, and his pupils included some of the most influential names in British ballet, many also influencing ballet throughout the world.
Dame Marie Rambert was a former pupil and colleague of Cecchetti, who also established a professional ballet school teaching his methods. This led to the formation of the UK's first ballet company, which survives today as the country's oldest established dance company, although it is now known as
Rambert Dance Company and specialises in
contemporary dance. The school also remains and is known as the
Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.
Dame Ninette de Valois was a colleague of Cecchetti during her professional career with the
Ballets Russes. She established
The Royal Ballet in London, with many of the companies early dancers being pupils of Cecchetti. The Cecchetti method was also favoured by de Valois when she formed the
Royal Ballet School.
Phyllis Bedells, another Cecchetti pupil, would also play an important role in the teaching of ballet in Britain, as a founder member of the
Royal Academy of Dance, which today is a classical ballet teaching examination board. The British writer and dance historian Cyril W. Beaumont was a close friend of Cecchetti and, in 1922 he collaborated with Cecchetti to codify the training technique into a printed syllabus,
The Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet, which has become the foremost reference for Cecchetti method teachers worldwide. Cecchetti also gave Beaumont permission to establish the Cecchetti Society to maintain the method and ensure that it would be passed on to future ballet teachers in its original form. Branches of the Cecchetti Society were subsequently established around the world, most notably in Australia, South Africa, Canada and the US. The original Cecchetti Society still exists in Britain, although against the wishes of Enrico Cecchetti it was absorbed into the
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, which continues to maintain the Cecchetti method as a separate entity from its own
Imperial Classical Ballet syllabus. Today, the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing promotes the Cecchetti method as a syllabus-based series of dance examinations, which are taught by registered teachers around the world in both pre-vocational and vocational dance schools. The syllabus is a progressive series of graded and vocational graded examinations, which are accredited by the
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the government-appointed regulator of qualifications in England and Wales. Successful exam passes in the Cecchetti method can therefore be submitted for credit towards other nationally recognised qualifications, however this only applies in England and Wales. These qualifications are in reality usually taken by the amateur rather than the professional dancer. There are a few ballet teachers, such as Gavin Roebuck, who can trace their knowledge of the Cecchetti method in a direct line from pupils of Enrico Cecchetti, including generations of dancers trained at the Royal Ballet School, the Rambert School and Canada's National Ballet School. == Examinations ==