What's That Dance

Ballet

By Katharine Harris
Ballet tends to be referred to as one type of dancing, but did you know there are actually several different schools of ballet? While they all share the same steps, positions and moves, each of the schools of ballet emphasizes different things and has slightly different methods.

Vaganova

Vaganova style is named after its founder, Aggrippina Vaganova.  A dancer herself, she trained at the Imperial Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg and graduated in 1897. She joined the school’s parent company, the Imperial Russian Ballet as a dancer. In 1916 she retired from dancing to focus on teaching, and she devised her own method of ballet training, fusing French, Italian and Russian classical methods.

Vaganova technique includes a focus on a strong and supple lower back as well as arm plasticity. Students of the Vaganova technique tend to be seen as clean dancers with very precise lines with an accompanying softness. In recognition of her contribution to the world of ballet training, the school at the Imperial Ballet Academy was re-named in her honour, and is now known as the Vaganova Ballet Academy.

Cecchetti

The Cecchetti method is named after its founder, Enrico Cecchetti. He and his wife opened a ballet school in London in 1918, and taught many important dancers. Their school led to the creation of the UK’s first ballet company which still exists today, known as the Rambert Dance Company. The school is also still active, the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. When Dame Ninette de Valois established The Royal Ballet, many of the dancers she hired were students of Cecchetti, and his methods were incorporated into The Royal Ballet School when it was formed.

Cecchetti developed a strict system for training dancers with a special concern for anatomy within the confines of classical ballet technique. The Cecchetti method has set exercises for each day and the exercises are to be practised in the proper sequence. This ensures that the full body is worked evenly, and students are encouraged to think of their movements in relation to the whole body, and to develop a feeling for graceful lines without too much fussiness in the movement. Today there is a Cecchetti Society which functions internationally, ensuring his codified method is passed on correctly.

Royal Academy of Dance

The Royal Academy of Dance or RAD is an international dance exam board. It was established in 1920 and received its royal charter in 1936. It was initially formed with a goal of increasing the standard of classical ballet training in the UK, and was based on a fusion of techniques of the European dancers who created it. Today it works in affiliation with the International Dance Teachers’ Association. The RAD style of ballet has become known as the English style of ballet, though it has roots in Italian, French, Danish and Russian methodologies.

It has a high technical standard, and emphasizes attention to detail when learning. The progression through levels of difficulty can be slow, with the goal of having students achieve the maximum level of technique before moving on to more complicated steps, which in turn makes the complicated steps easier to learn.

Bournonville School

The Bournonville School is named after its founder and creator, August Bournonville (1805 – 1879). He was a dancer, ballet master and choreographer. His unique method of dancing was heavily influenced by the classical French dance system.

Bournonville technique emphasizes the dancer’s natural grace and the harmony between the music and the body. The upper body moves gracefully, with the arms always placed in front of the body. There is quick footwork, and the upper body should help draw the eye towards the movement. Perhaps most importantly, all movement should look effortless, despite the big contrast between the grace of the arms and upper body and the speed of the feet.

In Bournonville’s many ballets, the choreography calls for his style of dancing. From La Sylphide to Napoli, many of his works are famous and danced all around the world by the major dance companies today. The Royal Danish Ballet specializes in Bournonville’s work, and their affiliated school continues to place an emphasis on teaching Bournonville.

Now that you know a bit about each of the styles/schools of ballet, you may find yourself watching a bit more closely at the next ballet performance or class you attend to see if you can pick up which style(s) influence which dancers.