Gemini School of Dance
Principal : Jacqui Everson A.I.S.T.D.(Dip)
Enrico Cecchetti was born in Italy in 1850. At the height of his career, he emigrated to St. Petersburg,
where he joined the Imperial Russian Ballet and created the virtuoso role of the Bluebird and the mime role
Carabosse in the premiere of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890. He also taught many Maryinsky dancers including
Pavlova, Karsavina and Nijinsky. In 1909, he joined Diaghilev's Ballet Russe as a teacher and mime artist.
Here, his pupils included Markova, de Valois, Rambert and Massine.
Cecchetti had trained under Lepri, a pupil of the great Carlo Blasis who codified the technique of classical
ballet in 1820. His ideas were developed further by Cecchetti who grouped the classical vocabulary into six sets
of exercises, one for each day of the working week.
In order to meet the needs of the young child, at both pre-vocational and recreational levels, as well as those of the
the vocational student , the Cecchetti Society Classical ballet Faculty has evolved a series of graded examinations.
Their value lies in giving pupils and teachers a specific goal to work towards at a particular stage in training,
and a sense of accomplishment in achieving that goal.
There are special qualifying examinations for teachers, granting Certificate in Dance Education, Licentiate and Fellowship
status in the ISTD. These too have their basis in the executant examinations, requiring in addition a detailed knowledge
and understanding of the fundamental approach to teaching, including the musical, anatomical and historical aspects of dance.