Cecchetti, Ashton and the Royal Ballet

[LinMM]

How lovely to see Julie Cronshaw in the above video. She was often in a class I used to go to with Roger Tully who was an exceptional teacher. 
Even as an amateur (and now a rather aged amateur)  I can feel his teaching affecting certain movements connected to the “great” en dedans and en dehors. Some uses of the head and upper body do become engrained even when “corrected” by other teachers! 
Roger was near completion of another book when he died (just as Covid broke out)  and am not sure if will ever be published now ….mores the pity 😥

His other book mentioned in Julie’s video The Song Sings the Bird is very useful for understanding his teaching. 

One of the things I liked about his classes …as an adult…is you didn’t just “do” a barre. If he wanted us to bring something out he hadn’t seen enough of ….he would ask us to repeat an exercise …often several times!! 

To me this is real teaching and not just going through the motions as it were. 
For him it was not so much about the dancer but about the Dance. This is what I think made him so successful in teaching amateurs and professionals together ….we were all taking part in the Dance …and in that sense were all equal participants. 
I do miss Roger…though I always called him Mr. Tully…a hangover from my association with him in my 20’s.. so few teachers like him now. 


 

Edited May 4, 2023 by LinMM

[Ondine]

Roger Tully's obituary.  'He would always remember Rambert's primary concern to teach students to dance; technique to support the dance could be acquired later.'

 

[Ondine]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

How lovely to see Julie Cronshaw in the above video. She was often in a class I used to go to with Roger Tully who was an exceptional teacher. 
Even as an amateur (and now a rather aged amateur)  I can feel his teaching affecting certain movements connected to the “great” en dedans and en dehors. Some uses of the head and upper body do become engrained even when “corrected” by other teachers! 
Roger was near completion of another book when he died (just as Covid broke out)  and am not sure if will ever be published now ….mores the pity 😥

His other book mentioned in Julie’s video The Song Sings the Bird is very useful for understanding his teaching. 

One of the things I liked about his classes …as an adult…is you didn’t just “do” a barre. If he wanted us to bring something out he hadn’t seen enough of ….he would ask us to repeat an exercise …often several times!! 

To me this is real teaching and not just going through the motions as it were. 
For him it was not so much about the dancer but about the Dance. This is what I think made him so successful in teaching amateurs and professionals together ….we were all taking part in the Dance …and in that sense were all equal participants. 
I do miss Roger…though I always called him Mr. Tully…a hangover from my association with him in my 20’s.. so few teachers like him now. 


 

 

 

There's a very interesting and in depth interview here with Julie Cronshaw, describing briefly her career and also why she decided to teach the Cecchetti Method to her students.  Her growing number of YouTube videos and the documentary 'Ballet's Secret Code' are well worth watching, and her website is recommended reading.

 

https://www.balletconnections.com/ballet-interviews/julie-cronshaw/

 

"Cecchetti Method is a comprehensive technique for learning ‘classical theatrical dancing’ as Cecchetti terms it and enables any dancer to make the best possible technical and artistic progress over time, precisely because no step is ignored or movement quality left out. The classes were named The Days of the Week and each Day focuses on a series of steps with their particular technical and interpretative challenges.

The barre is not choreographed and is designed to get the dancer on their aplomb and ready for dancing in the center. It can be compared with a musician tuning up and playing their scales and arpeggios, for example. Au milieu, there are two sets of ports de bras, center practice exercises which are similar to those found at the barre, adages, pirouettes with both adage and virtuosic quality, allegros, exercises en diagonale, pointe work and virtuosity.

There is a perception that the Method is too rigid and prevents the teachers from incorporating their own exercises. This is a misunderstanding. Cecchetti adapted the exercises according to who was attending his class at the time. He had for example, a ‘Karsavina’ class, a ‘Pavlova’ class and so on.

The comprehensive nature of the Method ensures that the dancer will eventually reach a high level of training, no matter where, when or how he started. Although it follows a rigid class structure, a teacher can work with each individual dancer on their needs, creating an all-round, very able dancer for a career either in classical ballet or contemporary dance, not to mention also creating a vast movement vocabulary for choreographers to draw upon."

 

 

"In my opinion, most ballet classes now tend to be rather generic and dull. The same narrow selection of steps and rhythms are used universally while the classical ballet vocabulary seems to be shrinking. Many classes quite literally descend into what is really little more than rhythmic gymnastics on pointe. I think it is so very boring, given the potential talent found in many schools!

It’s quite shocking but I read that at a recent dance conference it had been decided that épaulement was an optional extra! This epitomizes an appalling lack of understanding of a fundamental principle of this art form."

 

 

"Sir Frederick Ashton, the Royal Ballet’s Director from 1963-70 and arguably its most talented choreographer, learned the Method at the age of 17 from Rambert, who had trained with the Maestro. Ashton’s choreography embodies all of Cecchetti’s spirit and principles."

 

More Sir Frederick Ashton on Cecchetti here, page 6 & 7

Thoughts on the Relevance of Enrico Cecchetti’s Work Today and in the Future and of the Societies that Promote It
by Raymond Lukens & Franco De Vita

 

https://cicb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2012-NewsletterV4.pdf

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Ondine

[Ondine]

More 'things Cecchetti':

 

Sunderland Cecchetti teacher Emily Wallace on the Cecchetti Diploma DVD, and other Cecchetti related writing on her blog:

 

https://www.sunderlandballet.co.uk/about-us

 

On film: the Enrico Cecchetti Diploma

Darcey Bussell (who studied Cecchetti’s work as a student) says in her introduction, ‘I hope it will inspire a future generation of dancers and teachers, as it inspired me’.

Well, I am certainly feeling inspired! It is wonderful to see the work performed by such beautiful dancers, and refreshing to see that the work was challenging for even these seasoned professionals! The DVD includes a discussion between David Bintley (Director BRB) and Kevin O’Hare (Director RB) and in it they point out the value of studying Cecchetti.

David Bintley points out the connection between Cecchetti and the work of Royal Ballet founding choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton, observing that it is Cecchetti’s use of the upper body which makes the Ashton works so glorious to watch and difficult to do; meanwhile Kevin O’Hare expresses his view that if a dancer can really master Cecchetti’s work it sets them up for working with any choreogrpher because it teaches grounding and being more in control of the body.

It is really important that we keep this technique going and people keep learning it, and we as choreographers keep using it. (David Bintley)

 

https://italianfootsteps.home.blog/blog-feed/

 

Also:

Chasing Cecchetti: The Legacy by Susanna Chu Part 1

 

It’s such amazing work that it stands the test of time.

The work is so challenging and yet has such a beautiful flow of movement and demands such co-ordination... which makes it totally relevant to dance today.

 

https://audcblog.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/chasing-cecchetti-part-1-the-legacy/comment-page-1/

 

Chasing Cecchetti, Part 2: A Timeless Technique

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

 

“You couldn’t get away with even an eyelash out of place,” says Marquita Lester, a senior ballet instructor at AUDC. “All exercises were meticulously worked out and therefore trained the dancer to be totally in control, co-ordinated with the music.”

Cecchetti took a scientific approach, while embracing artistic freedom and expression. Each exercise has a specific purpose, and each one builds upon the last.

“He was known for his attention to form. He had a special concern for anatomy. His goal was for students to learn dance by studying and internalizing the basic principles and to become less dependent on the movements executed by a teacher. Then they would be self-reliant.”

 

https://audcblog.wordpress.com/2019/05/29/chasing-cecchetti-part-2-a-timeless-technique/

 

 

 

 

Sadly, the second set of ports de bras demonstration & discussion with Diane van Schoor and Brandon Lawrence has recently vanished from YouTube, along with many other delights from the 2022 international celebration of 100 years since the founding  of the Cecchetti Society, so can't link to that.

 

 

His was a scientific method, if the word can be applied to art. He knew the “why and what it is for” of every step, thus setting a precedent for an analytical approach to the teaching of vocabulary rather than sheer rote replication. In addition to his set classroom material, Cecchetti built into each lesson a variety of creative enchaînements which challenged the dancers mentally and physically to take the science and discipline to greater artistic levels. Tamara Karsavina

 

 

 

[taxi4ballet]

Following this thread with interest. As a youngster in the 1970's, my parents sent me to ballet classes. I wasn't very good at it, being far too tall, round-shouldered, and with no turnout to speak of whatsoever. Despite these inadequacies, my teacher imposed such training on me as I was capable of absorbing. He must have despaired, really!

 

I only recently discovered that I had been trained in the Cecchetti method when I remembered his name. I googled 'Leo Kersley' and found out just who my teacher had been.

 

[Ondine]

27 minutes ago, taxi4ballet said:

Following this thread with interest. As a youngster in the 1970's, my parents sent me to ballet classes. I wasn't very good at it, being far too tall, round-shouldered, and with no turnout to speak of whatsoever. Despite these inadequacies, my teacher imposed such training on me as I was capable of absorbing. He must have despaired, really!

 

I only recently discovered that I had been trained in the Cecchetti method when I remembered his name. I googled 'Leo Kersley' and found out just who my teacher had been.

 

 

 

My word, what a link to the past! How wonderful!  He was a student of Rambert. We don't appreciate all this when we are young, do we? 

 

His obit here is well worth reading.  His name should not be forgotten.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/jul/17/leo-kersley 

 

The school he founded in 1959 is still going!

 

The Harlow Ballet School is proud to continue that noble tradition, passed on from Maestro Cecchetti, through his pupil Stanislav Idzikovsky to the founder of the Harlow Ballet School, Leo Kersley.  Leo Kersley's pupils, Michael Branwell and Claire Hickles, pass on these tried and trusted methods for safe and effective teaching.  The Harlow Ballet Association performed Coppélia with Cecchetti's choreography in 2002, 2010 and 2016.

 

https://www.harlowballet.co.uk/the-cecchetti-method

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Ondine

[LinMM]

I knew  Leo Kersley from Harlow Ballet. 
Thelma Litster ( ex Rambert) ran a summer school at Harlow back in the mid 70’s. She knew Leo Kersley but don’t think they danced in Rambert Company at the same time. 
In the summer school at Harlow it was his wife who played the piano! One of those pianists who could play “tiptoe through the tulips” one minute and then launch into Schubert or Chopin  the next!! I also seem to remember she was simultaneously reading a book ( in between playing). I would just love to be that nonchalant about playing the piano!! 

Edited May 12, 2023 by LinMM

[Ondine]

Sadly I fear the ballet class pianist is a dying breed, recorded music is allowed for exams now it seems!

 

Many were indeed very talented in a rather specialist field, playing away in large and also small studios and draughty church halls and the rest throughout the land, for generations of budding dancers, who loved their ballet classes, adored being part of something special, worked hard at it,  even if they had no ambitions (or indeed the talent) to become professionals.

 

I still have never quite grasped how people like Rambert and Cecchetti managed to whistle and teach at the same time, though Cecchetti did play the violin and also beat time with a stick I believe.

 

There must be thousands of people who hear a few bars of a particular piece of music and are transported back in time to ballet class, and remember the steps they did to it week in week out,  or the 'grade' dance they performed!

[LinMM]

I can still remember the music of the old Grade 1 Swedish dance back in the 50’s!! And the Grade 2 Sailors Hornpipe ( easier to remember for obvious reasons) and the Grade 3 Tarantella music!! 

[Fonty]

On 12/05/2023 at 18:17, LinMM said:

In the summer school at Harlow it was his wife who played the piano! One of those pianists who could play “tiptoe through the tulips” one minute and then launch into Schubert or Chopin  the next!! I also seem to remember she was simultaneously reading a book ( in between playing). I would just love to be that nonchalant about playing the piano!! 

 

i am sure that was incorporated into one of my childhood ballet books, where the pianist used to read the newspaper in between playing.  I remember one of the pianists in my classes when I was a child had a thing about musicals, South Pacific in particular.  A good pianist makes a class; it can really liven up the barre work a treat. 

[balletfanatic]

On 12/05/2023 at 18:54, LinMM said:

I can still remember the music of the old Grade 1 Swedish dance back in the 50’s!! And the Grade 2 Sailors Hornpipe ( easier to remember for obvious reasons) and the Grade 3 Tarantella music!! 

How about the grade 1 birdcage dance!!

[Ondine]

8 minutes ago, balletfanatic said:

How about the grade 1 birdcage dance!!

 

 

Still done I think, though that's RAD exam, not Cecchetti of course.

 

[Legseleven]

RAD in the 70s - good stuff. Grade 1 birdcage dance, grade 2 Breton dance, grade 3 tarantella, grade 4 I have a blank, senior grade that lovely variation  I can still remember the music for the Breton dance, tarantella and variation and I can remember all of the variation plus some of those 2 dances. Fabulous. 
And I have the old syllabus book somewhere - was astounded to see that we did turns from 5th from about grade 3? 

[balletfanatic]

13 hours ago, Legseleven said:

RAD in the 70s - good stuff. Grade 1 birdcage dance, grade 2 Breton dance, grade 3 tarantella, grade 4 I have a blank, senior grade that lovely variation  I can still remember the music for the Breton dance, tarantella and variation and I can remember all of the variation plus some of those 2 dances. Fabulous. 
And I have the old syllabus book somewhere - was astounded to see that we did turns from 5th from about grade 3? 

Grade 4 was some kind of character dance I think 

[Fonty]

15 hours ago, Legseleven said:

RAD in the 70s - good stuff. Grade 1 birdcage dance, grade 2 Breton dance, grade 3 tarantella, grade 4 I have a blank, senior grade that lovely variation  I can still remember the music for the Breton dance, tarantella and variation and I can remember all of the variation plus some of those 2 dances. Fabulous. 
And I have the old syllabus book somewhere - was astounded to see that we did turns from 5th from about grade 3? 

 

I did RAD a bit earlier than that, and we never did any of that.  And we never did turns at all.  In fact, I have never been taught to turn (which is probably why I am so lousy at it.)

[Pas de Quatre]

I did RAD in early 60s and remember a Spanish Jota which seemed very difficult with a series of small cabrioles devant. So ethereal I have the syllabus too, but it was not so detailed as these days.

[Blossom]

18 hours ago, Legseleven said:

RAD in the 70s - good stuff. Grade 1 birdcage dance, grade 2 Breton dance, grade 3 tarantella, grade 4 I have a blank, senior grade that lovely variation  I can still remember the music for the Breton dance, tarantella and variation and I can remember all of the variation plus some of those 2 dances. Fabulous. 
And I have the old syllabus book somewhere - was astounded to see that we did turns from 5th from about grade 3? 

 

Grade 3 changed around the time I did it, but we got a tarantella in grade 5. Grade 4 no clue what the dance was supposed to be but felt Scottish... I don't think that was the character dance though. I can only remember bits of the dances but found a few on youtube a few years ago. I find it quite remarkable that the syllabus for grade 4 and 5 didnt change until around 5-7 years ago and people only a few years older than my children were learning the same syllabus as I did. 

The vocational grades are a lot more dancey these days than the old syllabi, which, to get back on topic, were probably a lot more in the Cecchetti mould in their simplicity.

[dancefanatic]

5 hours ago, balletfanatic said:

Grade 4 was some kind of character dance I think 

 

I remember learning a dance that involved being a little girl at the fair mimic'ing all the acts she saw so one was pretending to be the fat lady so had to blow your cheeks out and dance really large and heavy.  Very non PC these days.  Might have been for RAD Gr4?

 

** Edit to say this was early 1980's

Edited May 15, 2023 by dancefanatic

[balletfanatic]

1 hour ago, dancefanatic said:

 

I remember learning a dance that involved being a little girl at the fair mimic'ing all the acts she saw so one was pretending to be the fat lady so had to blow your cheeks out and dance really large and heavy.  Very non PC these days.  Might have been for RAD Gr4?

 

** Edit to say this was early 1980's

I remember grade 4 pretending to be a fat lady too but I don't remember it being to do with a fair. I think we had to wear character shoes for it 

[alison]

On 12/05/2023 at 18:45, Ondine said:

Sadly I fear the ballet class pianist is a dying breed, recorded music is allowed for exams now it seems!

 

  Fortunately, my class still has an excellent one.

 

This thread is getting a bit Doing Dance-y ...

[Peony]

Cecchetti syllabus exams still require live music I think. 
 

the clip Of the port de bras above is bothering me, the flourish with the wrists and trailing hands is not very cecchetti I think and the front arm too

high. The KS dance students are song quite a good job I think! 

 

[Ondine]

1 hour ago, Peony said:

Cecchetti syllabus exams still require live music I think. 
 

the clip Of the port de bras above is bothering me, the flourish with the wrists and trailing hands is not very cecchetti I think and the front arm too

high. The KS dance students are song quite a good job I think! 

 

 

There's a fair bit of stuff floating around YouTube purporting to show Cecchetti port de bras (and other work) which bothers me too, especially the head which seems to have gone from 'incline to incline' to 'incline to turn' on the first one which it never was?  (It's important, for a variety of reasons.)  Alas the Manual says one thing and illustrates another. And yes flourishes of hands etc. Lead down with the little finger and keep it SIMPLE!  And keep it low!  Otherwise if the audience is watching from the stalls you're shading your face and all that. (Classical Theatrical Dancing as the Manual has it.) But it was the best I could find at the time. I thought perhaps my memory was failing!! The KS students also seem to have a variety of 'heads' ... and the 'hooking' of the arm on the second, etc.  Others things I could say. A couple have raised heads, so an audience would not see faces at all, only underneath of chins! I'm unsure if these are all KS students, as they are sporting numbers.

 

These are far more difficult than they first appear, and the urge to be 'fancy dancey' needs to be resisted. Less is more!

 

Second set is even more challenging to get 'right', but such good training.

 

There is also someone posting on YouTube what she claims is 'Cecchetti port de bras based' and 'creative' which is in my opinion appalling arm wafting & hand waving and any link with Cecchetti is tenuous to say the least.  Sadly, there is no means of preventing anyone using the name it seems.  I gather many people have been shouting at her (she also has a blog where she tries to justify this) but she carries on regardless. 

 

As for recorded music, I believe it is now an option. I've not looked at this in depth, I don't know if this is for Majors as well as lower levels of exam 

Look at ISTD site and Examination Review 2023

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by Ondine

[Ondine]

I thought I'd add this here. A few faces I'm sure forum members will recognise. Darcey Bussell is missing but her apologies were conveyed by Monica Mason.  It dates from 2013 but it's all still very relevant to today. It's not all about Ashton, though he gets a mention!

 

Ashton style is basically based on his Cecchetti training. Lose that and so much of what Ashton's choreography is about is lost too.

 

Well worth twenty minutes of your time.

 

 

 

 

And just to mention this about Richard Glasstone, June 2023

 

Richard Glasstone MBE awarded Fellowship Award

https://www.istd.org/discover/news/richard-glasstone-awarded-fellowship-award/

 

An Honorary Fellow is described in the Society’s Rules and Standing Orders as being awarded for ‘exceptionally meritorious services to the art of dancing.’ As such it is the highest mark of honour that the Society confers.

As a world-leading authority on teaching the Cecchetti method, and a pillar of the Cecchetti Society and Faculty for more than six decades, Council were unanimous in their decision to bestow this award upon Richard. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Ondine