Enrico Cecchetti ( 21 June 1850, Rome — 13 November 1928, Milan) was an Italian ballet dancer, founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinonia in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia where he further honed his skills. By 1888, he was widely accepted as the greatest ballet virtuoso in the world. The general populace was not aware that he could only turn in one direction and in fact, had to have all his choreography tailored especially to accommodate this weakness. After an esteemed career in Russia, originating such roles as both the Bluebird and Carabosse in Petipa 's masterpiece, The Sleeping Beauty, he turned to teaching. Some of his students included other notable dancers of the Imperial Ballet, such as: Anna Pavlova, Léonide Massine, and Vaslav Nijinsky. He also restaged many ballets, including Petipa's definitive version of Coppelia in 1894, from which nearly all modern versions of the work are based (Cecchetti's version was notated in the early 20th century, and is today part of the Sergeyev Collection)
A Lifetime of Dance
Cecchetti taught at the Imperial School in St. Petersburg from 1887 — 1902, and at the Warsaw State School in Poland from 1902 — 1905. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1905, he established a school there. From 1907-1909, he coached Anna Pavlova exclusively until dancers from the Maryinsky pleaded with him to open his classes to them again. When Sergei 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 Diaghilev's 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 Léon Bakst, Picasso, Jean Cocteau, and Henri Matisse; composers Claude Debussy, Manuel De Falla, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky. The Ballets Russes toured through Europe, the United States, South America, and Australia.
Having had enough of life on the road, Cecchetti settled in London, England where he opened a dance school in 1918. Considered the technical marvel 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.
Sources
| Dance Portal |
