Maestro: Enrico Cecchetti and Diaghilev's Ballets Russes

With a few notable exceptions, the literature in ballet history generally discusses Enrico Cecchetti solely as a ballet teacher, ignoring his contributions as a performer, and even as a ballet master, to ballet history. During his affiliation with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from 1911 until 1928, Cecchetti played a significant role, as a performer and a teacher, in the development of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes along three trajectories: as a virtuosic dancer who raised the standard for male dancing, as an exceptional mime artist who inspired choreographers and dancers alike, and as a ballet master who created a solid corps de ballet from a group of dancers with diverse training and backgrounds.