Pointe Work -
A Programme for Beginners and Pre-Professional Study
by Barbara Fewster OBE, FISTD
Introduction
Pointe Work A Programme for Beginners and Pre-Professional Study
Barbara Fewster first devised these programmes of pointe work exercises in 1984 for the Cecchetti Society Classical Ballet Faculty, ISTD to supplement and support the training of pointe work. Miss Fewster revised the work in 1995 and some of these valuable training exercises were subsequently included in the current ISTD Cecchetti syllabus work at Intermediate Foundation and Intermediate level. However, the exercises can be used flexibly by teachers as appropriate to their students’ age, development and level of work they are studying.
Miss Fewster gifted the copyright of this work to The Cecchetti Society Trust in 2022. The reprinting of this edition in 2025 is a tribute to Miss Fewster who died in 2024, as a celebration of her extraordinary contribution to the training of young ballet dancers and in particular to the Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet.
Pointe Work - A Programme for Beginners and Pre-Professional Study may be downloaded as a pdf document using the link below - the document is copyright and please note the terms of copyright on page 2 of the document.
Cecchetti Society Trust 2025
Barbara Fewster OBE FISTD (1928–2024)
Barbara Fewster was an influential English dancer and teacher, celebrated for her deep commitment to the Cecchetti method. After training at the Wessex School in Bournemouth and Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, she became a founding member of Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet and was mentored by Peggy van Praagh, who passed on her expertise in Cecchetti’s teaching. Barbara Fewster began teaching at The Royal Ballet School in 1955, became Deputy Ballet Principal in 1967, Ballet Principal from 1968 to 1982, and then served as Associate Director until 1988. She was pivotal in establishing the School’s Junior Associate programme in 1972, appointing Nora Roche to supervise this ambitious training for young children, and also supported educational outreach and the Teacher Link scheme to nurture future dancers..
Fewster was an excellent teacher of the Cecchetti method and made a lasting impact on the Cecchetti Society Classical Ballet Faculty, ISTD. She contributed to revising some of the Cecchetti syllabui, devised foundational pointe and pirouette exercises, and served as Chair of The Cecchetti Society Trust for nearly twenty years. Her legacy endures in the generations of dancers and teachers she inspired and in the continued vitality of Cecchetti training worldwide