Italian school of ballet
The Italian school descends from the court spectacles of Renaissance Italy, whose balletto gave ballet its name, and was systematised in the nineteenth century by Carlo Blasis. His Traité élémentaire, théorique et pratique de l'art de la danse (1820) analysed technique through geometry and balance, and from 1838 he directed the ballet school of La Scala in Milan for about fifteen years.
La Scala's school, founded in 1813, trained generations of dancers, and Italian performers were prized for technical brilliance. Enrico Cecchetti, whose own teachers were Blasis's pupils, carried the line to St Petersburg and the Ballets Russes before returning in 1923 to direct the La Scala school. The Accademia Teatro alla Scala continues dance training in Milan.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Carlo Blasis
- Store norske leksikon: Dans i Italia
- GraMilano: 200 years of La Scala's ballet school
- ISTD: History of Cecchetti
- Accademia Teatro alla Scala (official site)
Organisations connected with this dance
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.