Vincenzo Celli
| Vincenzo Celli | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Vincenzo Yacullo 4 May 1900 Salerno, Italy |
| Died | 28 February 1988 Greenwich, Connecticut, US |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Dancer |
| Spouse(s) | Marion Ivell |
Vincenzo Celli (4 May 1900 – 28 February 1988) was a noted Italian-American ballet dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Celebrated as a performer and choreographer in Italy, he was renowned in America as a master teacher of the Cecchetti method of ballet training.
Vincenzo Celli, born as Vincenzo Yacullo in Salerno, Italy, emigrated with his parents to Chicago, Illinois, at an early age. He was first exposed to ballet as a teenager and was awed by the movements of dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, whom he saw perform in 1916 during an American tour of the Ballets Russes, under the direction of Sergei Diaghilev. He was deeply moved by the Russian ballet. "I didn't know what it was," he once said in an interview, "but I knew it was great."
At 17, Celli moved to New York City, where he performed as an actor both on and off Broadway with the Washington Square Players. Impressed by his range and ease of movement, choreographer Adolph Bolm approached him to appear in a mime role in his ballet production of Le Coq d’Or (1918) at the Metropolitan Opera. He then appeared in Bolm's production of The Birthday of the Infanta (1919) at the Chicago Opera. A few years later, Celli moved back to Italy, where he began formal ballet training with Rafaele Grassi, the teacher of Rosina Galli. He made his Italian debut in a 1922 revival of Manzotti's spectacular ballet Excelsior at Milan's Teatro dal Verme. The success of his appearance led to a contract with the Teatro alla Scala, where he studied privately under the famed choreographer and dancer Enrico Cecchetti.
Celli spent the next fifteen years, from 1923 to 1938, dancing at La Scala. Under the tutelage of maestro Cecchetti, from 1923 to 1928, he developed into an acclaimed virtuoso, eventually earning the prestigious title of primo ballerino. During his years at Milan's famed opera and ballet theater, he formed an exciting partnership with prima ballerina Cia Fornaroli (1888-1954), appearing with her in such ballets as Petrouchka in 1927 and La Leggenda di Giuseppi (The Legend of Joseph) in 1928. He also began to choreograph, creating ballets for dozens of operas before he decided to leave Italy, where his position was endangered because of his refusal to join the Fascist party.
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