Cecchetti, Enrico. (1850–1928) & Lifar, Serge. (1905–1986). Original Photograph on the Venice Lido, ca. 1925.
Original real photo postcard of Enrico Cecchetti and Serge Lifar together in Venice, ca. 1925. Identified on the verso in blue ink by Lifar himself, "Cecchetti -Lifar au Lido (Venise) devant le Theatre du Lido." On Satrap photograph stock, light staining to recto, a few strips of tape stain to verso, else fine. 3.5 x 5.5 inches; 8.7 x 13.9 cm.
A very fine original photograph of perhaps the greatest teacher in ballet history, together with one of his most celebrated students, the young Serge Lifar, from whose collection this photograph was originally obtained.
"In July and August, when the theatre was closed, Diaghilev engaged Cecchetti to teach Lifar exclusively, to which Cecchetti agreed, adding, 'Lifar exclusively with Celli.' Diaghilev, amused rather than surprised, accepted the terms, and showed great interest in our lessons during our stay at the Lido, near Venice. Sometimes we took a gondola, and glided to the Teatro Fenice for our two hour lesson ; but as the trip to Venice by gondola was three hours in the hot sun each way, Madame soon put a stop to that! We hustled around and found a room at the Lido which was adequate for our lessons. It was a deserted exposition building, used for the biennial showing of paintings. The building was white stucco, and close to the Grand Hotel where we lived. The room, though dusty from disuse, was light, airy, and agreeably pleasant. Maestro would beat time with his cane and whistle the tunes for our musical accompaniment. What glorious lessons those were!" (Vincenzo Celli, fellow Cecchetti student, as quoted in Dance Index, Vol. V No. 7, July, 1946)
Creator of such roles as the Bluebird and Carabosse in Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, Enrico Cecchetti was a star at the Imperial Ballet and by 1888 was widely accepted as the greatest ballet virtuoso in the world. As a teacher, he taught and mentored not only Lifar but also Anna Pavlova, Leonide Massine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Olga Preobajenska, Anton Dolin, Alexandra Danilova among many others and traveled extensively as ballet master of Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. He created the ballet technique known now as the Ceccheti Method, still used by many ballet companies around the world.
Born in 1905, Russian-born, Serge Lifar was introduced to dance in 1920 by Bronislava Nijinska, under whom he began to study. Brought to France to join Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Lifar studied with Cecchetti and became premier danseur of the company and created the title roles in a number of George Balanchine’s early ballets, including The Prodigal Son. He later became director of the Paris Opera Ballet (1929) and there created over 50 ballets, including the path-breaking Icare (1935), which was written to be danced without music.
Cecchetti, Enrico. (1850–1928) & Lifar, Serge. (1905–1986). Original Photograph on the Venice Lido, ca. 1925.
Original real photo postcard of Enrico Cecchetti and Serge Lifar together in Venice, ca. 1925. Identified on the verso in blue ink by Lifar himself, "Cecchetti -Lifar au Lido (Venise) devant le Theatre du Lido." On Satrap photograph stock, light staining to recto, a few strips of tape stain to verso, else fine. 3.5 x 5.5 inches; 8.7 x 13.9 cm.
A very fine original photograph of perhaps the greatest teacher in ballet history, together with one of his most celebrated students, the young Serge Lifar, from whose collection this photograph was originally obtained.
"In July and August, when the theatre was closed, Diaghilev engaged Cecchetti to teach Lifar exclusively, to which Cecchetti agreed, adding, 'Lifar exclusively with Celli.' Diaghilev, amused rather than surprised, accepted the terms, and showed great interest in our lessons during our stay at the Lido, near Venice. Sometimes we took a gondola, and glided to the Teatro Fenice for our two hour lesson ; but as the trip to Venice by gondola was three hours in the hot sun each way, Madame soon put a stop to that! We hustled around and found a room at the Lido which was adequate for our lessons. It was a deserted exposition building, used for the biennial showing of paintings. The building was white stucco, and close to the Grand Hotel where we lived. The room, though dusty from disuse, was light, airy, and agreeably pleasant. Maestro would beat time with his cane and whistle the tunes for our musical accompaniment. What glorious lessons those were!" (Vincenzo Celli, fellow Cecchetti student, as quoted in Dance Index, Vol. V No. 7, July, 1946)
Creator of such roles as the Bluebird and Carabosse in Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, Enrico Cecchetti was a star at the Imperial Ballet and by 1888 was widely accepted as the greatest ballet virtuoso in the world. As a teacher, he taught and mentored not only Lifar but also Anna Pavlova, Leonide Massine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Olga Preobajenska, Anton Dolin, Alexandra Danilova among many others and traveled extensively as ballet master of Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. He created the ballet technique known now as the Ceccheti Method, still used by many ballet companies around the world.
Born in 1905, Russian-born, Serge Lifar was introduced to dance in 1920 by Bronislava Nijinska, under whom he began to study. Brought to France to join Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Lifar studied with Cecchetti and became premier danseur of the company and created the title roles in a number of George Balanchine’s early ballets, including The Prodigal Son. He later became director of the Paris Opera Ballet (1929) and there created over 50 ballets, including the path-breaking Icare (1935), which was written to be danced without music.