International Cecchetti Educator, Examiner & Mentor
Heidi Zolty is an internationally recognised Cecchetti educator, examiner, mentor, and former professional dancer with more than thirty-five years of experience in ballet education. A Fellow of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (UK), Fellow and Examiner of Cecchetti USA, Fellow of the Cecchetti Council of Canada, and holder of the prestigious Enrico Cecchetti Final Diploma, Heidi has dedicated her career to preserving and advancing the artistry and methodology of the Cecchetti tradition.
Heidi's professional career has taken her from the stages of South Africa and Germany to studios, universities, and examination centres across Europe and North America. Her students have gone on to careers with international ballet companies, become successful school directors and educators, and achieve the highest levels of Cecchetti teaching qualifications.
Today, Heidi combines her experience as an international examiner, teacher educator, and school director to support dancers and teachers through examination preparation, diploma coaching, syllabus clarification, teacher mentoring, and international masterclasses both online and in person. Her teaching philosophy combines technical precision with musical understanding, historical context, and artistic development.
Teaching Philosophy
“We are not simply making positions; we are creating movement.”
My teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that technique, musicality, artistry, history, and movement are inseparable. The Cecchetti Method is far more than a syllabus of steps; it is a beautifully structured system that develops thoughtful, musical, expressive dancers.
The Cecchetti Method
The Cecchetti Method builds carefully from one level to the next, developing strength, coordination, musicality, speed, balance, breath, and artistry. When taught with understanding, it is not a method of fixed positions or tricks, but a living vocabulary of movement that can develop dancers of many different ages, abilities, and aspirations.
Musicality
Musicality is the breath of a dancer. Music guides how we move, how we breathe, and how we express ourselves. Every step has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and every movement should respond to phrasing, accents, silences, and the emotional quality of the music.
Tradition
Tradition is not something old or fixed; it is something living. In the Cecchetti Method, tradition lives through épaulement, port de bras, musical structure, clarity, discipline, and artistry. Each student is connected to the dancers and teachers who came before them while discovering their own individual voice.
Beyond the Syllabus
The syllabus is not simply a list of steps to be taught and examined. Each exercise has a purpose in the dancer’s development. Through careful teaching, students and teachers learn how movement connects, how the body breathes through port de bras, and how technique becomes dance.
My Goal as a Teacher
My goal is not simply to prepare dancers for examinations, but to help them become thoughtful artists who understand movement, music, history, and the joy of dancing. Whether teaching a young beginner, an aspiring teacher, or a Diploma candidate, I hope every student leaves with greater confidence, deeper understanding, and a lifelong love of dance.