From Studio to Stage 2026 - Review
At The Royal Ballet Upper School on Sunday 19th May 2026, Cecchetti teachers, students and friends gathered for our annual celebration of the Cecchetti Method and in particular, sixty years of Cecchetti in Malta.
Johane Casabene gave a fascinating presentation on the man behind the Method; Maestro Enrico Cecchetti himself. How wonderful to be able to gain an understanding of him in the context of his family and early life in Civitanova and how his life and work expanded far beyond into the world. We all know the story that he was born in a theatre, but a picture paints a thousand words and the rare photographs we were shown revealed a life thoroughly immersed in theatre, culture and the love and support of his whole family; ever has it been true that dancers and artists need this support to thrive!
The Cecchetti Scholars performed next; The Keys of the Piano by Tarryn Owen was a witty, entertaining piece that required the Senior Scholars to dance with absolute precision, especially at the start! Holly Unnuk gave us a charming slice of Parisian chic in Le Café, the Junior Scholars dancing with energy and style. Resonant Drift, by Liliana Della Valle, challenged the Senior Scholars to demonstrate fluid motion radiating from the core, a principle of movement Cecchetti would have understood and approved of, I’m sure.
Diane van Schoor presented a lecture on the Cecchetti principles last year and continued this year with an exploration of Cecchetti’s Days of the Week, ably assisted by four vocational students. Focusing on allegro, we were reminded that jumping requires landing, and that we tend to be much better at the former and not so good at the latter – injuries happen on the ground after all, not in the air, so care must be taken to train our dancers to land well. It was a revelation that the allegro performed on each day not only vary in elevation, dynamics and shape, but also in the simplest of differences; namely whether a jump is from two feet to one, or one to the other, one to the same one etc. Truly a lesson that we must continue to investigate further and deepen our understanding of the Method throughout our teaching life.
Pure joy followed, for nothing is more whimsical and charming than La Fille mal gardée by Sir Frederick Ashton. Daniel Pratt from The Ashton Foundation coached five young dancers in the Chicken’s Dance from Act 1. With audience members Susan Lucas and Brenda Last reminiscing about what it was like to dance in such a large (and hot!) costume, we learned how challenging it can be to dance like a chicken, Ashton style! Mr Pratt’s faithful reconstruction of the choreography reminded us that Ashton so thoroughly embeds musicality and character in his work that one simply needs to focus on the dancing of it to find the performance within. The dancers did a fine job and made convincing farmyard fowl!
Time flies when you are having fun and afternoon tea certainly passed swiftly catching up with colleagues; events like this provide a much needed and deeply appreciated opportunity to connect with friends old and new, linked as we all are by our love of teaching and the Cecchetti Method.
Cecchetti Society Trust Patron Kevin O’Hare in conversation with Ruth Brill gave us all a small insight into his pathway to becoming Director of the Royal Ballet, right from starting dance lessons in Hull with his brother Michael. Balancing the need to preserve the heritage works in tandem with commissioning and promoting new work is a difficult job, especially with a repertoire as broad as The Royal Ballet, but it is clear to see that Mr O’Hare really loves his work and relishes the nurture of dancers and choreographers under his care.
It was a pleasure to watch the solo performances by Winners from the Vocational Awards and Malta Awards and thanks must go to the hard work of students and their teachers, not to mention parents, many of whom had travelled a long way.
Finally, what a treat it was to have English National Ballet First Soloist James Streeter coaching Jakob Wheway Hughes, artist with ENB and former Barbara Geoghegan Award winner, in the Prince’s solo from Sleeping Beauty Act III. With disarming honesty and humour, Mr Streeter articulated the small details of technique, timing and style that bring the solo to life and make us fully believe in the character of the prince. Mr Wheway-Hughes is possessed of gravity-defying elevation, elegance and charisma but under the gentle guidance of Mr Streeter, the Prince emerged before our very eyes.
Our sincere thanks to the members of the Cecchetti Society Trust for their many hours of work putting this event together for our enrichment and enjoyment!
Lisa Hunter FISTD ARAD Dip RBS(TTC)