The Cecchetti legacy : a critical analysis of the Cecchetti method manuals

Abstract

This research brings to light the contents of the manuals which were originally written with the purpose of propagating maestro Enrico Cecchetti’s Method of training. An essential part of this process led to investigate two manuals, A Manual of the Theory and Practice of Classical Theatrical Dancing Classical Ballet, Cecchetti Method (1922) written by Cyril Beaumont, and Classical Dance A Complete Manual Of The Cecchetti Method Volume 1 (1997), Volume 2 (1998) & Volume 3 (2022), written by Grazioso Cecchetti, and edited by Flavia Pappacena. Other books written about the method, the authors of the two manuals, and the circumstances that influenced their personal lives, were also researched to assess how this impacted their work. After evaluating the two manuals, it was important to establish whether they contained the foundations of the system of training E. Cecchetti so strongly believed in, and on which he based his method. The research, amidst the rich vocabulary contained in G. Cecchetti’s manual, hoped to retrieve some more of the maestro's work. E. Cecchetti established a template of a versatile weekly class plan and adapted it to the needs of his dancers, the evidence of further work created by E. Cecchetti and recorded by his son G. Cecchetti in his manual analysed throughout this research, suggests that if E. Cecchetti were still teaching today, he would probably still apply this systematic cycle in his work. This research endeavours to understand whether or not the founding principles necessary for the training of dancers discussed in the two manuals have remained unchanged, or perhaps continue to take on a different form. It also aims to determine if they are truly timeless and whether they are still relevant to training systems today.