French vs. Italian?

[lorenzoverlaine]

In one of his critiques of the early 1920's Akim Volynsky stated his preference for the Italian ways of doing attitudes and pirouettes over the respective French techniques. What is or was the difference?

L.V.

[rg]

i believe Gail Grant's dictionary of ballet has much about the variants in French, Russian and Italian schooling.

also i think Vaganova's book on ballet (translated by A. Chujoy) goes into these details somewhat.

[Hans]

I agree with rg--Vaganova's Basic Principles of Classical Ballet shows the differences quite clearly.

[lorenzoverlaine]

Thanks, friends. As I have Grant's little book I'll try first to glean some info there. Apparently, I should already know the answer to my question!

[vrsfanatic]

You may have more technical answers to your question if you venture over to Ballet Talk for Dancers, the sister site to Ballet Talk. There is a link in the upper right hand corner of this page. Ballet Talk is more a webssite for discussions about ballet such as reviews, history, etc.

[Mel Johnson]

But it's worth considering that in the early 20s, Italian meant Cecchetti straight from the Old Man Himself, and French meant Leo Staats. Not the same things anymore, anywhere.

[Nanarina]

Cecchetti is still taught in the UK today at The Royal Ballet and Arts Educational at Tring. (May have changed its name now).

One of the recent Ballerina's to have studied the method was Darcey Bussell.

[Mel Johnson]

Yes, but Cecchetti as systematized is not Cecchetti from the horse's mouth, as it were. Even in period, those who set up the Cecchetti curriculum and syllabi were criticized for missing things in the training. As Peter Schickele observes, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi!"