Enrico Cecchetti, long associated with teachers of ballet, may well turn out to be one of those "lost" geniuses.
Born into a family of dancers, his mother Serafina, and father, Cesare (pronounced Ches Aray) toured Europe in the 1840's as dancers. While on the road three children, Pia, Enrico and Giuseppe were born - all destined to be dancers. Enrico was born in the smell of grease paint - the dressing room of a theatre in Rome, in 1850. The family toured the United States in 1857/58 with the Ronzani Ballet and by 1866, the talented Encrico made his debut in a ballet choreographed by his father in which he partnered his sister Pia.
He became a sensation as he toured Italy and other countries in Europe. He married Giuseppina De Maria, also a dancer, and they pursued their dance careers while their family grew.
In 1887, as Enrico was reaching his prime, he was invited to teach in the Imperial School in St. Petersburg and to dance in ballets at the Marinsky Theatre, Enrico startled the Russian audiences. As Giannandrea Poesio states: "Before Nijinsky ... Cecchetti showed the Russian audiences that a man could `fly' ". His technical ability coupled with an innate theatricality, proved his performing artistry at age 40.
His influence on the Russian ballet was profund and was responsible for seeding the next generation of the Imperial School's emerging stars such as Karsavina, Nijinski and Pavlova.
In 1894, his intuitive understanding of the dancer's body resulted in what appears to be his first writings, in which he describes his "method" of ballet training. Later in 1903, he prepared a book of classes for Pavlova in which he not only provided exercises, but also wrote musical accompaniment.
Clearly, Diaghilev recognized Enrico's importance as a pedagogue and as a performer by bringing him to the Ballets Russes in 1911, where he and Giuseppina created many mime roles in the company's remarkable repertoire.
Four generations of Cecchettis held a strong attachment to the small seaside town of Civitanova Marche, on the eastern coast of Italy. In the late 1980's, Livia Brillarelli, an historian and resident of the town came across this Cecchetti connection . She located the dancer Maria Ambrogi, the wife of Enrico's grandson Riccardo and uncovered the family story in her book, CECCHETTI - A Ballet Dynasty, published in 1995 by Dance Collection Danse.
This superbly produced book tells the family's story which spans nearly 100 years. Included are over 80 photographs, many found in the family's private collection.
NOTE: The Special Hard Cover Edition is SOLD OUT!