Cecchetti method
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The Cecchetti method is a form of ballet instruction created by Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928). The method is a strict training system with special concern for anatomy within the confines of classical ballet technique, and seeks to develop the essential characteristics of dance in its students through a rigid training regime. The goal is for the student to learn to dance by studying and internalising the basic principles, in an effort to become self-reliant rather than imitating the movements executed by their teacher.
The method traditionally has seven grades with examinations up to diploma level.
Training
The Cecchetti method differs from other schools in its endeavour to reduce the dancer's training to an exact science. It imposes a fixed regimen, with set exercises for each day in the working week. This ensures that different types of steps are practiced in a planned sequence, and that each part of the body is worked evenly. Each exercise is executed to the left as well as to the right, beginning one side one week, and the other the next.
As with all techniques, the Cecchetti method teaches the student to think of the movement of the foot, leg, arm, and head, not as something apart, but in its relation to the whole body, to develop a feeling for graceful lines. Cecchetti laid down that it is more important to execute and exercise correctly once, than to do it a dozen times carelessly. Quality rather than quantity is the guiding rule. The Cecchetti Method is classic in its focus on line without extravagance or fussiness of movement.
Method includes a very full vocabulary of movement, including nearly forty "adages", composed by Cecchetti for the development and maintenance of the dancer's abilities. It is particularly noted for its eight port de bras.
Although Cecchetti insisted upon strict adherence to his program of daily practice, he also taught that the lesson of the day should be followed by studying new steps composed by the teacher to develop the student's powers in "quick study" and his ability to assimilate new steps and new "enchaînements".
Cecchetti in the United Kingdom
The Cecchetti 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 and she also established a professional ballet school teaching his methods. This lead to the formation of the UK's first ballet company, which survives today as the countries 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 the worlds largest Classical Ballet teaching organisation.
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 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 established 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 USA. The original Cecchetti Society still exists in Britain, although 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 Checchetti method can therefore be submitted for credit towards other nationally recognised qualifications, however this only applies in England and Wales.
Examinations
Students are tested on their ability to properly execute a number of specifically choreographed routines that emphasize a particular ballet movement. They are also graded on their knowledge of the theory and terms.
Grades five through seven correspond to his original levels.
In the American version, there are five different marks for passing a level. From lowest to highest they are:
- Pass on condition
- Pass
- Passed plus
- Passed Commended
- Passed Highly Commended
- Passed with honours (very very rarely given)
A dancer who achieves a pass condition must wait at least a year before attempting the next exam level. If it is deemed by the examiner(s) that the student is not competent in the level, the student receives a failing grade, meaning they must continue training for a minimum of six months and retake the exam.
Grade examinations: designed to be more technically demanding and to provide a solid artistic and technical base for advancement to higher levels. Levels: grade one to grade six.
Major examinations: career oriented, with a high level of technique and artistry expected. Levels: Intermediate, Advanced 1 and Advanced 2. In order to be examined in the Advanced one syllabus Intermediate must be passed.
Teacher Qualifying Examinations: Successful completion of these examinations leads to qualification with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Levels: A.I.S.T.D. - Associate (provisional registration) A.I.S.T.D. - Associate Diploma (full registration) L.I.S.T.D. - Licentiate F.I.S.T.D. - Fellow (highest teaching qualifications and held by all examiners)
The Australian version has six different marks. They are:
- Pass
- Pass with Special Merit
- Pass with Credit
- Commended
- Highly Commended
- Honours.
In Australia the student must first pass the exams Grade one to Grade six before taking the Intermediate level exam, which then can be followed by the Advanced 1 and Advanced 2 levels; all three can be taken as Category A or Category B. In addition, the Society offers teaching accreditation at the Associate, Associate Diploma, Licentiate, Licentiate Diploma and Fellowship levels.[1]
South Africa
In South Africa, the Cecchetti Society (established in 1928) has five Grades and the major examinations are the same as for the UK: Intermediate Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced 1 and Advanced 2. Examination passes are awarded as follows: Pass, Pass Plus, Commended, Highly Commended and Honours. To teach, the student must take the Associate examination after passing Advanced 1. Further qualifications are the same as for the UK and Australia. More information about Cecchetti in South Africa may be obtained by going to www.cecchetti.co.za