Margaret Craske | |
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| Born | 26 November 1892 Norfolk, England |
| Died | 18 February 1990 (aged 97) |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Margareta Krasova |
| Occupation(s) | ballet dancer, ballet teacher, writer on ballet |
| Known for | Cecchetti method |
Margaret Craske (26 November 1892 – 18 February 1990) was a British ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher of ballet.
Margaret Craske was born on 26 November 1892 in Norfolk, England, [1] daughter of Edmund and Hannah Craske. [2] She was a pupil and disciple of Enrico Cecchetti. When Cecchetti retired to Italy in 1923 she took over teaching at his studio in West Street, London. [3] She taught and developed the Cecchetti method in England and later in the United States. From 1931 until her death she was a follower of Meher Baba. [4]
She lived in India from 1939 until 1946, when she moved to the United States and resumed teaching, first at the American Ballet Theatre. From 1950 she taught at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, and from 1968 until 1983 at the Manhattan School of Dance. [1]
Her pupils include many of the most important names in ballet in the English-speaking world, including Sir Frederick Ashton, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Sir Robert Helpmann, Cyril Beaumont, and Antony Tudor. [3] [5]
The published works of Margaret Craske include:
Meher Baba was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly in India, but with a significant number in the United States, Europe and Australia.
The Cecchetti method is variously defined as a style of ballet and as a ballet training method devised by the Italian ballet master Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928). The training method seeks to develop essential skills in dancers as well as strength and elasticity. Cecchetti-trained dancers are commonly found in ballet and other dance companies throughout the world.
Satguru, or sadguru, means the 'true guru' in Sanskrit. The term is distinguished from other forms of gurus, such as musical instructors, scriptural teachers, parents, and so on. A satguru has some special characteristics that are not found in any other types of spiritual guru. Satguru is a title given specifically only to an enlightened rishi or sant whose life's purpose is to guide the initiated shishya on the spiritual path, the summation of which is the realization of the Self through realization of God.
Maude Lloyd was a South African ballet dancer and teacher who immigrated to England and became an important figure in early British ballet. She had a significant second career as a dance critic, writing with her husband under the nom de plume Alexander Bland.
Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he further honed his skills. Cecchetti was praised for his agility and strength in his performances, as well as his technical abilities in dance. By 1888, he was widely accepted as the greatest ballet virtuoso in the world.
Antony Tudor was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-1950s.
Francis Brabazon was an Australian poet and a member of Meher Baba's mandali.
Pas de quatre is a French term used to identify a ballet dance for four people. Pas de quatre are usually plotless dances performed as divertissements within the context of a larger work. However, narrative pas de quatre and pas de quatre that stand alone are not unknown.
New York Theatre Ballet or NYTB was founded in 1978 by Diana Byer, who became its artistic director. Dedicated to the principles of the Cecchetti-Diaghilev tradition, the company both reprises classic masterworks and produces original ballets.
Dame Margaret van Praagh was a British ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, repetiteur, producer, advocate and director, who spent much of her later career in Australia.
A ballet blanc is a scene in which the ballerina and the female corps de ballet all wear white dresses or tutus. Typical in the Romantic style of ballet from the nineteenth century, ballets blancs are usually populated by ghosts, dryads, naiads, enchanted maidens, fairies, and other supernatural creatures and spirits.
Mary Goodhew was the Artistic Director of Elmhurst Ballet School in Edgbaston, Birmingham, until she left to become director of Legat Ballet in July 2008, taking up that post in September 2008.
La Boutique fantasque, also known as The Magic Toyshop or The Fantastic Toyshop, is a ballet in one act conceived by Léonide Massine, who devised the choreography for a libretto written with the artist André Derain, a pioneer of Fauvism. Derain also designed the décor and costumes for the ballet. Ottorino Respighi wrote the music based on piano pieces by Gioachino Rossini. Its world premiere was at the Alhambra Theatre in London on 5 June 1919, performed by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.
British ballet is most recognised for two leading methods, those of the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Academy of Dance. The identifying characteristic of British ballet is the focus on clean, precise technique and purity of line that is free of exaggeration and mannerisms. The training of dancers in Britain is noted for its slow progression, with a great deal of attention paid to basic technique. British ballet methods operate on the principle that establishing correct technique and strength slowly makes it much easier for the student to adapt to more difficult vocabulary and techniques later on.
Alfredo Corvino was an Uruguayan ballet dancer and ballet teacher.
Rambert is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingdom, and today, as a contemporary dance company, continues to be one of the world's most renowned dance companies. It has previously been known as the Ballet Club, and the Ballet Rambert.
Vincenzo Celli was an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and teacher. He was known as a performer and choreographer in Italy, and in the US as a teacher of the Cecchetti method of ballet training.
Cyril W. Beaumont OBE was a British dance historian, critic, technical theorist, translator, bookseller, and publisher. Author of more than forty books on ballet, he is considered one of the most important dance historians of the twentieth century.
Stanislas Idzikowski was a Polish dancer and ballet master, active in England, and with such historic companies as Pavlova's, Ballets Russes, and Vic-Wells. During his performance career, 1910-1933, he became famous for his brilliant classical technique, and for the development of ballet roles. With Beaumont he co-authored an influential book on the Cecchetti Method, still in print. He later taught dance in London.
Faith de Villiers was a South African dancer, producer, choreographer, teacher, company director, and adjudicator. Active primarily in the northern province of the Transvaal, she is recognized as one of the most influential pioneers of ballet in South Africa.
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