The Imperial Dancing Academy connected with La Scala
in Milan was opened in 1812. Its greatest period began when Carlo Blasis,
Italian dancer and teacher, became its director in 1837. Blasis published two
textbooks, Treatise on the Art of Dancing and Code of Terpischore, in which he
codified his teaching methods and all that was known of ballet technique. These
books form the basis of our modern classical training. Blasis trained most of
the famous Italian dancers ot the era, and his pupil Giovanni Lepri was the
teacher of Enrico Cecchetti, one of the greatest teachers in the history of
ballet. It was Cecchetti who brought the Italian School to its peak. The Italian
School was known for its strong, brilliant technique and the virtuosity of its
dancers, who astonished the audience with their difficult steps and brilliant
turns.
