Rosie was trained by Olympic coaches Carlo Fassi, Frank Carroll, John Nicks and Peter Burrows. Quite a bit of space here is devoted to Rosie's ballet training. "I was taught by such a legendary ballet master who has since passed on. Maestro Vincenzo Celli was Enrico Cecchetti's last private student and partner to Anna Pavlove. Now as an adult I realize the magnitude of his accomplishments and I feel I must share my experience and pass on this precious knowledge."

Rosie with Maestro Vincenzo Celli in his ballet studio NYC

"The refinement and stillness of the Cecchetti technique was the perfect training for figure skating. It always kept the core still which is the optimum placement for aerodynamic jump rotation. I was known for my triple jumps on the ice and I believe a big part of the reason was my training with Maestro Celli. I spent countless hours with him in private lessons and classes in his little studio in NYC. He would bring me to the ballet at Lincoln Center and take me backtage where we hung out with Dame Alicia Markova and Peter Martins, they treated him like a God, he was such a legend. Maestro Celli would come to the old Sky Rink in NYC on W.33rd st way up on the 16th floor and watch me skate, he would stand by the barrier and take it all in while giving me very subtle upper body adjustments. He was a kind and gentle man, always so patient with me. I now coach figure skating and everything I teach is infused with the teachings of Ceccetti passed on to me by Maestro Celli."
International Figure Skating Champion & National Medalist Rosanna Tovi
exerpt from "The Master of Cecchetti Tecnique Maestro Vincenzo Celli"

Maestro Vincenzo Celli. Cecchetti's last private student
Born in Salerno but raised in Chicago, Vincenzo Celli fell in love with ballet in 1916 when he saw Vaslav Nijinsky perform with the Ballets Russes in Chicago during World War I. Leaving for New York, he met Adolph Bolm, who cast him in his productions of Le Coq d'Or (1918) at the Metropolitan Opera and in The Birthday of the Infanta (1919) at the Chicago Lyric Opera. In the early 1920s Celli went to Italy, where he studied with Raffaele Grassi (Rosina Galli's teacher) and made his Italian debut in a revival of Excelsior at Milan's Teatro dal Verme, which led to a contract as a principle dancer with La Scala Opera House. During his sixteen years as "primo ballerino," Celli formed an exciting partnership with Cia Fornaroli, appearing with her in ballets such as Petrouchka (1927) and Legend of Joseph (1928). He also worked intensively with Enrico Cecchetti, he was Cecchetti's last private student under whose tutelage he developed into an acclaimed virtuoso and partnered Anna Pavlova. He also began to choreograph, creating ballets for dozens of operas before he decided to leave Italy where his position was endangered because he refused to join the Fascist party. Eventually settling in New York, he opened a studio and soon gained an outstanding reputation as a teacher, his pupils included Alicia Markova and Jerome Robbins. His classes adhered strictly to the Cecchetti system, which he regarded as the foundation of a complete dance education. He is the author of a monograph on Cecchetti published in 1946 by Dance Index. Walter Toscanini Collection of Research Materials in Dance, Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
The History of Dance
The Cecchetti Technique
ENRICO CECCHETTI, the Student

Rosie Tovi "Pavlova Dream" 20x16 Oil on Canvas

Enrico Cecchetti was born in a dressing room of a theatre in Rome on the 21st of June, 1850. Young Enrico's stage debut occurred as an infant in his father's arms. Although his parents wanted for him a career in business or law, Enrico was determined to be a dancer and finally convinced his parents of his great desire and dedication. Trained in the rudiments of ballet by his father, Enrico was sent for further training to Giovanni Lepri who prepared accomplished dancers. He also studied with two more of his father's colleagues, Cesare Coppini, who taught at the prestigious La Scala in Milan, and Filippo Taglioni, father of the celebrated ballerina, Marie Taglioni. All of Cecchetti's teachers had been trained by Carlo Blasis. This early training created a background for Enrico Cecchetti's method of teaching following the lines of Blasis' own theory. Blasis had codified his teaching methods in the book Traite Elementaire, Technique et Practise de Art de la Danse, published in 1820.
Cecchetti taught at the Imperial School in St. Petersburg from 1887-1902, and from 1902-1905 he taught in Poland at the Warsaw State School. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1905, he established a school there. From 1907-1909, he taught Anna Pavlova exclusively until dancers from the Maryinsky pleaded with him to open his classes to them again. When Diaghilev wanted his company, the Ballets Russes, to tour, the dancers refused because they would miss their daily classes with Cecchetti. An astute businessman, Diaghilev hired Enrico for the dual roles of ballet master and mime. Cecchetti performed many mime roles which were created expressly for him by choreographers of the Ballets Russes. Cecchetti's presence in the Diaghilev Ballets Russes was very important. He was the link between the past and the present, contributing to the birth of modern classical ballet. In addition to Cecchetti and the dancers, many other artists worked with the Diaghilev Ballets Russes: painters, set and costume designers Bakst, Picasso, Cocteau, and Matisse; composers Debussy, De Falla, Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinksy. The Ballets Russes toured through Europe, the United States, South America, and Australia. Tired of touring, Cecchetti settled in London, England where he opened a school to which dancers flocked. Considered the technical lodestar of the ballet world, it was said that no one could become a finished ballet dancer without passing through Cecchetti's hands. In 1923, he returned to Italy to retire but was invited by Arturo Toscanini to resume his teaching career at La Scala, his lifelong dream. While teaching a class, Cecchetti collapsed and was taken home where he died the following day, November 13, 1928.
TRADITION CONTINUES, Cecchetti's Legacy

Greenwich Times Rosie Tovi a ballerina studying with Maestro Vincenzo Celli danced for the Bruce Museums Holiday Extravaganza. Miss Tovi performed a Blue Bird Variation as well as an exerpt from Aurora's Wedding, all stage by Mr.Celli.

Maestro Enrico Cecchetti will always be remembered through the teaching method he developed which expanded upon the principles set forth by Carlo Blasis. He learned from the masters; he assimilated and applied the theories they taught. From his own experiences as a dancer and a teacher and from his associations with other dancers, artists, and musicians, he continued to learn, sharing his knowledge and wisdom throughout a career which spanned nearly eight decades. Cyril Beaumont, a world renowned dance historian and friend of Cecchetti said, "What impressed me most about the Cecchetti method of teaching was the way in which each exercise played a definite and planned part in the student's technical development. There is nothing haphazard about the system, nothing which depended on the teacher's mood of the moment. There is a definite plan to daily classes." The method devised by Maestro Cecchetti was recorded and published in 1922 by Cyril Beaumont with the help of Idzikowski and Cecchetti, himself. The Manual of Theory and Practice of Classical Theatrical Dancing (Cecchetti Method) is an excellent source of information on technique, stance, positions of arms, feet, legs, hands, body, head, port de bras, adages, etc. Margaret Craske and Fridericka Derra de Moroda later collaborated with Cyril Beaumont in recording many allegro enchainements and pirouettes.
Having finished the manual on the Cecchetti Method, Beaumont decided it would be beneficial to bring together those dancers in London who had studied with Cecchetti. From this group was founded the Cecchetti Society in 1922. Its earliest members were Cyril Beaumont, Margaret Craske, Fridericka. Derra de Moroda, Molly Lake, Jane Forrestier, Dame Marie Rambert, and Dame Ninette de Valois. Cecchetti and his wife were the first president and vice president of the Cecchetti Society. From this Society, branches have developed in all parts of the world.
The legacy of the Cecchetti teachings has continued to grow. Among the many dancers influenced by Cecchetti were: Anna Pavlova; Vaslav Nijinksy; Tamara Karsavina; Dame Ninette de Valois and Dame Marie Rambert (Royal Ballet of England and Ballet Rambert, respectively); Gisella Caccialanza (New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet); Vincenzo Celli, Luigi Albertieri, Dame Alicia Markova, and Margaret Craske (Metropolitan Opera Ballet); Luba Egorova and Olga Preobrajenska (who taught in Paris); Serge Lifar (Paris Opera Ballet); Betty Oliphant (National Ballet of Canada); Molly Lake (Ankara Ballet of Turkey); Adolf Bolin (San Francisco Opera Ballet and Chicago Lyrical Ballet); Mikhail Mordkin (American Ballet Theatre); George Balanchine (New York City Ballet); Dame Peggy Van Praagh (Australian Ballet); Dulcie Howes (University of Cape Town, South Africa, also known as C.A.P.A.B. Ballet Co.). The list is endless.
Interview with Harvey Hysell
A Lovely Interview with Professor Harvey Hysell on the teachings of Maestro Vincenzo Celli and the Cecchetti Tecnique
Amongst the foremost exponents of Enrico Cecchetti's teachings in the United States, Harvey Hysell was a disciple of Vincenzo Celli, Cecchetti's last private student. A native of New Orleans, he has six times been the recipient of its "Big Easy" Award, as well as its Medal for Lifetime Achievement.
Professor Hysell has trained many of America's leading artists, including Rosalie O'Connor (American Ballet Theatre), Stephanie Murrish-Gaifullin (former principal, Ballet de Santiago and Sarasota Ballet, former soloist Cincinnati Ballet); Ann Arnoalt Noa (Ballet Austin); Devon Carney (former principal of Boston Ballet, now ballet master at Cincinnati Ballet), Ian Carney (Montgomery Ballet), Eleanor Bernard Carney (principal, Montgomery Ballet), Mireille Hassenboehler (principal, Houston Ballet), Tyann Clement (soloist, Houston Ballet), Amy Johnson (Junior Soloist, Northern Ballet Theatre, Leeds).
In 1960, someone asked Celli how old he was. He had a mane of thick dark hair, even then, and ran his fingers through his hair, and laughed, and said "about 65". He must have lived to be 88, and taught to the very end. I hope to do that.
Q/ Why have you devoted yourself to Cecchetti? ?
A/ It was while studying with Celli in NYC in the late 1950s, that I decided - because of the placement, and the way of moving. I realised that I was dancing very correctly.
What Cecchetti decided to do with the upper body is very tasteful and very subtle. There is no such thing as angular lines in his placement. The extreme would be Balanchine. I have done Balanchine classes, and in fact, when I lived in NYC I saw his ballets as much as possible. It only made me more of a Cecchetti person. I came away still more convinced that Cecchetti was right. The refinement of it.
The use of space in Cecchetti is in keeping with his use of curved lines in the body. One doesn't use space in an angular way. If you saw it from above, there would always be a curve. I wouldn't change that.
I'll be seventy soon, and I'll go on teaching it.
I consider Cecchetti to be more anatomical. I took Balanchine class three times a week, because I wanted to study with people like Stanley Williams, but you ended up being taught Balanchine - hyper-extended arms, knees and hips. It seemed against nature to me.
The Cecchetti dancer dances naturally. It is soft, but square. I was often offended by the lines in the Balanchine system.
But Balanchine got what he wanted. And he built a whole company on it. .
Q/ What do you think about our current craze for stretching ?
A/ When I went to Celli, I'd go to the barre and stretch. I was too loose, and it affected my ballon. Celli stopped that. And that is how I got my tours en l'air, and my entrechat huit, and so on.
Celli would give stretches at the end of the barre, but not a lot, and that is what I now give. If people are too stretched out, all that's left over for them to do is lift the leg!
When I first began to work with Celli, the first thing he did was to tell me to get that leg down. He didn't want it, and especially not à la seconde. You must be placed and square, no open arabesques like we saw all over the place in NYC.
Q/ What about allegro work ?
A/ The first time I experienced true batterie was with Celli. He would give fantastic allegro exercices - we had to move fast, and put our heels down too! The other work I had had was French and Russian, and there was far less emphasis on the beats.
But we could do it, because Cecchetti bases everything on the placement. Once I was placed, I found that I could move much faster, so I had brilliant allegro work.
Some people say there are too many set exercices, but those exercices make you go through the positions that create the strength.
It's fundamental that the Cecchetti method, the lines and the placement, be preserved.
Q/ How did Celli build stamina ?
A/ In a class, the allegro exercices were not forever long, but they were many - it's both the repetition, and that you have so many different exercices within a single class, that builds the stamina. And they develop excellent coordination because of the port de bras at the same time.
Q/ How did Celli work on aplomb ?
A/ What he gave us was a sense of balance. We had fabulous balance. The pirouettes became effortless, because we were on our leg. Celli would walk up to you, grab your arm, and say "you are sitting on your leg. Get out there and stay there". He had us build the strength there, and learn how to stay there. It was by reference to the vertical, starting from the nose straight down through to the feet as they stand in first position. You have to be straight up and down, including à la seconde. That is what gives the beauty of line and makes the dancing effortless. There's no Cecchetti without the vertical placement. That's the way it works.
Q/ Where does épaulement come from ?
A/ Celli did not teach pas de deux. So I would go to take class at Balanchine's school for pas de deux, and before, of course, I had to take regular class. One of the things that would be so irritating was when they would come round and yank my arm and hand up to shoulder height or even higher. Cecchetti works because you must have the curved arm, supported by the triceps, but the actual support comes from the back. Then it works.
Cecchetti and Bournonville must have had similar opinions about lines.
Epaulement means harmony between the angle of the head and the twist of the shoulder. But it's really done in the back. You place the back, and then the head gives in that direction, depending on the position you want to be in. The épaulement is about training the head and shoulder how to behave, in relation to the back.
I don't teach young children any more, but yes, our teachers here do give them a little épaulement. They will not be staring forward all the time. The important thing is to introduce some of the épaulement and some of the lines, but don't make it too complicated.
Q/ There's some divergence between Cecchetti's view on pointe work, and Balanchine, I think ?
A/ Balanchine on pointe wants the toes knuckled under. I don't agree. Cecchetti depends on the strength of the arch. The line must run from the tip of the toe through the centre of the arch. In Chicago we had two people from the Royal Ballet, who taught pointe work beautifully, and there was no knuckling. I am offended by a knuckled foot. People want to see the look of a pointed foot - well they should remember that a proper arching of the foot, is NOT at the top of the foot. The strength of the arch, is in the instep. Don't go over the shoe! Pull out of the shoe.
I did something very unusual. I knew I would teach one day, so I asked Celli if I could take barre on pointe, to see what it was like. And quickly I learnt how he wanted you to go up, a little spring from the heel and quick action from the instep. I think that this protects the joints in the foot from injury.
In NYC, at the School of American Ballet, I saw the trouble ballet was in. It was so fashionable, those lines - there was a sensationalism there, and people who responded to sensationalism would be supporting that kind of ballet.
So I sought out a company to dance in, that had proper lines, and believed in the placement.
Q/ How did Cecchetti use the music ?
A/ Celli had a pianist, to whom he gave scores that seemed to be Cecchetti's own music. There was certain music, for certain exercices. I wish I knew what had happened to those scores. It was a style that had finishes: in other words, as each exercice ended, even at the barre, there would be extra bars of music, so that you would end the exercice in a properly held way, maybe with a flourish - a pirouette to the knee, or whatever. They body would thus be held alert at the end of the exercice, and not just peter out or wilt. There was music for that. Your body would thus end up in a complementary position to the exercice you had just accomplished.
As for classical music, I don't know that Celli, who was married to an opera singer, even knew that there existed anything but classical music. It goes without speaking! There was no jazz, no piano bar music, nothing like that. It would not even have been the same with a tambourine or with a drum. You were in touch with the music, and the music was in touch with the exercices.
I was so proud of having got to a teacher who demanded classical standards: the music, the beautiful arms, and it was not just legs and feet. It was the torso, the head and the arms, they were as much part of the dancing.
You know, over the past decades, first the legs and feet have got too much attention, too much accent - and now we can't even do that any longer, we have no more batterie, and we can't really jump!
Q/ Classical dancing today has become an emotional void. What is going on ?
A/ I think that if one uses the word "emotion", then it means harmony of the body in relation to the music. The coordination of arms, torso and body, in relation to the head, is very moving. But the emotion is essentially musical.
You have to be careful, though, when you say the word "emotion" to a modern kid, because he thinks "I've got to be sad, or happy". Basically, you want them to be in touch, involved, with the music. I never saw a Cecchetti exercice that was not musical. And then I got to the point, where I preferred to move that way!
Q/ Every second word out of a dancer's mouth today is "souffrance" - suffering. Is physical pain good for you ?
A/ I was never in pain once in my life when I was a dancer, and most certainly not after I trained in the Cecchetti method, because it is so in tune with the body. So is turn-out, which is a shock to most people, when you say that!
When you turn out right, the lines are more beautiful, yes, but it also makes the body able to do certain things it could never have done, turned in. A Cecchetti exercice is always in harmony with the body.
It's a shame that people think they have to go through painful gyrations in order to dance. They think "if I want to be a good dancer, then I've got to be in pain". (laughs).