06/01/2026
Thank you for the lovely feature! ✨
Diana’s connection to the Cecchetti lineage draws directly from Margaret Craske, who taught Diana for 20 years. Diana doesn’t teach from the set syllabus, but rather from Miss Craske’s direct teachings. We’re passionate about sharing Miss Craske and Cecchetti’s legacy with the international dance community, and have appreciated all of the support! 💙🩵
“I had no plans, you know,” Craske said, “Cecchetti used to have me around to teach evening classes. Then he’d find he couldn’t stay home so he’d pop into them. I learned a lot that way, with his interfering. Before he died, he wrote me a letter saying I was the only person who not only knew his work but also knew how to teach it.” - Margaret Craske
05/31/2026
Diana Byer has decided to, as her younger students might say, “get on the apps.” Byer is the founder and former artistic director of New York Theatre Ballet and is regarded as a master teacher of the Cecchetti method. She studied for 20 years with the British ballet dancer, choreographer, and teacher Margaret Craske (1892–1990), who herself studied with the Italian ballet master Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928). After dancing professionally and leading NYTB for 44 years, Byer stepped down from the company in 2022 but continued teaching.
In October 2024, Byer created the Diana Byer Legacy Project, a series of on-demand video lessons for dancers from elementary through professional levels. The series was created with Dancio, online-dance-lesson platform, and produced in collaboration with Jacob’s Pillow. And then by January 2025, with the help of Alex Angrist, one of her former students, Byer expanded her virtual reach by launching “Teaching Cecchetti.” The new channel is meant to educate dancers through social media (Instagram and Facebook) and online classes. The posts feature forgotten ballet steps from the 19th and early 20th century, as well as Cecchetti fundamentals.
Learn more about “Teaching Cecchetti” here: https://dance-teacher.com/diana-byer-teaching-cecchetti/ .tab=0?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=May
📝: Caedra Scott-Flaherty
📸: Photos courtesy Byer.
Description: Byer instructing a dance student. Text: Diana Byer Is Bringing Back Ballet’s Long-Lost Steps With “Teaching Cecchetti”
05/28/2026
what comes to mind for you when you think Cecchetti? 💙🩵✨
💃🏻 .faria
05/20/2026
Looking for an Open Class for Adult Dancers from Beginner to Professional? 💙🩵✨
Come take class with Diana Byer, Artistic Director Emerita of New York Theatre Ballet and direct pupil of Margaret Craske.
MONDAY - 10am at New York Theatre Ballet School studios
TUESDAY - 10am at Paul Taylor Dance Studio (Open Ballet)
TUESDAY - 6:30pm at Paul Taylor Dance Studio (Adult Beginner)
WEDNESDAY - 10am at New York Theatre Ballet School
THURSDAY - 10am at New York Theatre Ballet School (Pointe Class)
FRIDAY - 10am at New York Theatre Ballet School
Hope to see you in class soon!
05/20/2026