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Fewster
Cecchetti Scholarship
This
year's annual Fewster Cecchetti Scholarship audition took place on Saturday
20th October, at the London Studio Centre. Fourteen young dancers competed
for the coveted award of £1,000 to enable them to further their Cecchetti
training and it was gratifying that so many of the country's foremost
vocational colleges were represented. The class was given by Sara Gallie,
former dancer with the Royal Ballet Company, with superb accompaniment
from Stuart Marsden.
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(L-R)
Amy Thake, Jessica Clarke, Thomasin Gülgeç, Raquel Gaviria
(kneeling) |
It
was quite a long afternoon but the students worked hard and with good
humour. In giving her adjudication, Jessica Clarke, ex-soloist from the
Birmingham Royal Ballet, praised the students on their technical accomplishment
but commented on the need to 'dance from within' and give a little of
themselves to their performance - something with which the select audience
concurred.
Miss
Clarke agreed that everyone had had something to offer but that the scholarship
should be awarded to Amy Thake of the Royal Ballet School, with Raquel
Gaviria of Central School of Ballet as runner up. A separate award of
£100, given personally by Barbara Fewster to a boy with particular potential,
was made to Thomasin Gülgeç of the Rambert School, to be used
as he sees fit to expand his appreciation of the Arts.
Elisabeth
Swan
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Refresher
Course at HQ
At
ISTD HQ over the weekend of October 27th/28th, the Cecchetti Society Faculty
held a refresher course covering the Grade work through to Intermediate.
The Intermediate and Intermediate Foundation work was covered on the Saturday
by Victoria Chappell and Linda Pilkington, and the Grades on the Sunday.
I am sure the many teachers who attended have been teaching the syllabus
for a good while, but Elisabeth Swan with her usual clarity and sense
of fun brought the Grades to life and reminded us of the small details
which we all tend to overlook at some point.
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| Cecchetti
Course at HQ |
Covering
six Grades and learning a whole new syllabus in one day is no mean feat,
but we managed it. For the last two hours on Sunday our Chairman, Linda
Pilkington, taught the new Senior Standard 7. It was taught with so much
enthusiasm and great detail that everyone forgot their weary bodies. The
new work was lovely; retaining the Cecchetti principles but proving we
are moving with the times. I'm sure pupils will love working on it and
have great fun with the Tarantella.
Two
super days, a great treat to see so many Cecchetti teachers all together
working on the method to pass on to future generations. Thank you to all
who were involved for a very productive two days.
Linda
Isaacs
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Faith
de Villiers
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The
Cecchetti Society of Southern Africa and many others who knew her mourn
the loss of Faith de Villiers who died on 12th October 2001. She was one
of the greatest pioneers of South African Ballet. She was co-founder of
Ballet Theatre in Johannesburg and was closely involved in the establishment
of Johannesburg City Ballet. She later became Artistic Director of Pact
Ballet, a position she held until 1969. As Chairperson of the Cecchetti
Society of Southern Africa for 25 years and as a senior Major Examiner
on both the national and international circuit, Ms de Villiers worked
for the Society. She was awarded the Imperial Medal by the ISTD in London,
in recognition of her service and she received the South African Cecchetti
dedication award in 1996. She was an exceptional person who touched all
in the dance and theatrical community with her effervescent energy, profound
insight and unwavering courage. Persistent in pursuit of excellence, Ms
de Villiers inspired and stimulated those with whom she worked. Her passionate
enthusiasm was undimished to the end.
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Diana
Barker Memorial Fund
Teachers
and students in the UK who wish to apply for assistance in their studies
for the Enrico Cecchetti Diploma should make an application by the end
of February to:
Linda Pilkington
50
Oakley Drive
Keston
Bromley
Kent BR2 8PT
Such
applications should include a brief CV and details of the way in which
the grant would be used. The successful applicant will be advised in due
course.
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Cecchetti
Students' Summer Course 2001
From
28th July to 4th August 2001 the Cecchetti Students' Summer Course, held
in Tring, underwent a week of little sleep, lots of exercise, much hard
work and a lot of fun!
Each
morning a warm up with Sofia Santiago is relaxing and puts us all in good
stead for the rest of the day. Syllabus and non-syllabus classes of Advanced
1, 2 and Diploma ballet are a challenge as such high standards are expected.
A sense of total enjoyment and respect for the ballet teachers Cara Drower,
Richard Glasstone, Gillian Hurst, Vincent Redmon and David Yow is evident
from the smiles and enthusiastic round of applause at the end of each
class.
Afternoon
lessons consist of any combination of: contemporary classes with Nicky
Ellis, a contemporary piece choreographed and taught by Vincent Redmon,
girls' solos with Gillian Robinson, men's solos with David Yow, pas de
deux with David Yow and Sara Gallie, pointe work with Cara Drower and
Sara Gallie and last, but not least, Spanish with Gillian Hurst. All of
which are thoroughly enjoyed and widen our knowledge and understanding
of all aspects of dance.
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Cecchetti
Students' Summer Course participants. Senior faculty Cara Drower (centre)
and Richard Glasstone (backrow) |
An
evening trip to the swimming pool is a daily event where those of us who
are tired or aching float around the pool relaxing, those who haven't
had enough of dancing during the day practise dance moves and lifts with
the boys. Before we all know it the week is drawing to a close and the
end of course performance is being hastily put together. The atmosphere
is full of energy and eagerness to impress our audience with demonstrations
of syllabus ballet, contemporary work, contemporary choreography and a
Spanish piece.
The
Cecchetti Students' Summer Course promotes 'working hard' as much as 'playing
hard', which is evident from the return of students from previous years
and the invaluable friends made in the duration of the week. All that's
left to say is thank you to the organisers and to the students; hopefully
see you next year!
Jennifer
Rothery & Clare Tovey
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Cecchetti
Associate Summer Course
The Cecchetti
Associate and Associate Diploma Course were combined this year to give
a very useful and informative course for all. Those studying for the Associate
exam found it particularly useful to see the next stage after Associate,
and the Diploma candidates were able to provide us with lots of reassurances
about the exam, as well as with practical ideas.
Cara Drower
and Eve Pettinger were our two inspiring teachers, guiding us through
the week with a perfect balance of technique, theory, and essential teaching
tips which seem to gain instant results! Pam Peters was our pianist for
the week, and she was absolutely fantastic!
The day
started with morning class to get us all moving, and to help us with our
own technical difficulties. After the initial stiffness and sore muscles
wore off, everyone had gained in strength by the end of the week. Next
came the Grade work, starting with Grade 1 and progressing as the week
passed. We covered the theory and build ups of the Grades, as well as
the technical detail. I think I am right in saying we found this as mentally
tiring as it was physically! After a welcome lunch break, when we unscrambled
our brains, we had teaching practice. This gave us the opportunity to
test ideas raised in the morning sessions.
A big thank
you is owed to Alison Dos Santos who organised all the children to come
and be guinea pigs for us. The children came from Vacani, Linda Young,
Rona Hart and Claire Hern. It was lovely to see a group of such enthusiastic
and dedicated young dancers. Also, thank you to Narin who looked after,
and warmed up, all the children once they arrived.
The day
finished with work on our prepared enchainments. Cara and Eve provided
us with lots of encouragement, and many imaginative ideas for the basis
of our enchainment. Pam was amazing throughout these sessions, and unfailingly
played exactly what we wanted, even if we, as teachers, were unsure of
which rhythm or style to use. She spent a long time helping us to understand
and recognise different styles of music, giving us popular tunes to help
us remember them! We would like to say a big thank you to Cara and Eve
for all their support and encouragement throughout the week, and especially
for giving up their bank holiday to give us the benefit of a brilliant
six day course.
Kate
Inigo-Jones
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Diary
of Events 2002
| 20th
January |
Business
Studies Lecture, The Studio, 19 Westboume Gardens, Glasgow. Details
from Maureen Christie (0141 3399637). |
| 17th
February |
Area
Course at Horsham covering Senior Standard 7, conducting Class Examinations
and the new marking system, revision & questions on Grades as required.
Details from Sandra Powell (01293 862464) |
| 24th
February |
Preliminaries
and Finals - London Mabel Ryan Awards, Commonwealth Institute, Kensington
London W6 6NQ. Details from Susan Handy, 20 Eton Road, Datchet, Berks
SL3 9AY. |
| 10th
March |
Wales
& the West Cecchetti Area Awards. Venue tbc. Details and entry forms
from Pamela Miller, 53 Maes-y-Gwernen Road, Morriston, Swansea SA6 6LL.
(01792 774561). |
| 16th
March |
Preliminaries
- Cecchetti Southern Area Awards, Shoreham-by-Sea Community Centre.
For details and entry forms apply to Miss M Caulder, 296 Selsfield Drive,
Moulsecoomb, Brighton BN2 4HJ, enclosing large sae (01273 601117). |
| 24th
March |
Finals
- Cecchetti Southern Area Awards. Venue as above. |
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