About The Cecchetti Method

This art...will live forever young and immortal, because beauty lies in the domain of the spirit just as material resides in the physical order; it transforms itself but never dies. ~ Enrico Cecchetti, 1921

The Cecchetti Method of ballet is a style of classical, theatrical dance based on the teachings of the great Italian ballet master Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928). Born into a family of professional dancers, Maestro Cecchetti had a distinguished career as a principal dancer on the international scene before becoming a teacher of renown. He taught in Russia, Poland, Italy and England and became the private instructor of Anna Pavlova and many other celebrated dancers.

Cecchetti enlarged upon the Italian tradition of teaching, codified by Carlo Blasis, which maintained the balances and proportions of the human body, poised and in movement. The Cecchetti science of classroom practice exacted a co-ordination of arms, legs, and head, which produced a wonderful fluidity of movement, particularly in the upper body.

Although Cecchetti's development of the terre à terre style—brilliant articulations of the legs, with the dancer barely leaving the floor—was notable, his varied, six-day plan trained jumps of many textures. Most importantly, the solid, un-mannered Cecchetti base enabled the dancer to embrace any choreographic style.

Cyril Beaumont in London, England published the Cecchetti theories, beginning in 1922. Beaumont was assisted in the transcription of the manuals by Cecchetti protégés, Stanislas Idzikowski, Margaret Craske, and Derra de Moroda. In 1924, the Cecchetti Society was incorporated as a branch of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.

"The (Cecchetti) system is professional, logical and its technical demands are totally revealing. (its) ports de bras (arm movements) are known far and wide for their simplicity, purity of line and their sheer beauty." ~ Excerpt from Miss O: My Life in Dance by kind permission of Betty Oliphant, C.C., LL. D., D.Litt., F.I.S.T.D. (C.S.B., S.B.), Co-founder and former Artistic Director and Principal of the National Ballet School of Canada

"The simplicity of its syllabus has combined easily with the different contemporary modes of dance expression which have informed my choreography." ~ James Kudelka, Artistic Director, National Ballet of Canada

"It provided a strong technical base to build upon as I entered the professional world of ballet."
~ ,Nadia Potts, Director, Dance Program, Ryerson Polytechnic University; former Principal Dancer, National Ballet of Canada

"... a very exciting, demanding training that has been the solidifying power behind my career."
~ Margaret Illmann, former Principal Dancer, National Ballet of Canada; International Dance Artist.