History of Ballet

Where it Originated Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century Noblemen and women were treated to lavish events, especially wedding celebrations, where dancing and music created an elaborate spectacle The terms "ballet" and "ball" as in masked ball, come from the Italian ballare, to dance Catherine de Medici of Italy married the French King Henry II, she introduced early dance styles into court life in France At first, the dancers wore masks, layers upon layers of brocaded costuming, pantaloons, large headdresses and ornaments and the shoes had small heels and resembled formal dress shoes rather than any contemporary ballet shoe we might recognize today

King Louis Danced? King Louis XIV, helped to make ballet more popular in France by performing many roles himself His love of the art inspired him to create the Académie Royale de Danse His love of ballet fostered its elevation from a pasttime for amateurs to an endeavor requiring professional training In 1672, Lully became the director of the Académie Royal de Musique and created the first professional ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet.

The Romantic Movement In the first half of the nineteenth century, popular ballet classics such as Giselle and La Sylphide emerged  Romantic movement not only influenced art, music, and literature, but also ballet  This is also the period of time when dancing on the tips of the toes, known as pointe work, became the norm for the ballerina The romantic tutu, a calf-length, full skirt made of tulle, was introduced Russia began to take an interest in Ballet

Russia Takes the Lead By 1850 Russia had become a leading creative center of the dance world The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and other famous ballets were all created in Russia The first professional ballet company was founded in 1738 as the Imperial Ballet School, now known as the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet The classical tutu, much shorter and stiffer than the romantic tutu, was introduced at this time to reveal a ballerina’s legs and the difficulty of her movements and footwork

Traveling to America In the early 1900’s Russian theatre producer Serge Diaghilev brought together some of that country's most talented dancers, choreographers, composers, singers and designers to form a group called the Ballet Russes The Ballet Russes toured Europe and America, presenting a wide variety of ballets  Ballet grew in popularity during the 1930's George Balanchine, a Russian who emigrated to America, would change ballet even further

George Balanchine Changes Ballet Introduced what is now known as neo-classical ballet, an expansion on the classical form Neoclassical ballet is like classical ballet but more abstract. Often times in neoclassical ballet the plot, costumes, and scenery are unclear Is one of the best known artists who firmly established ballet in America by founding the New York City Ballet George Balanchine also created contemporary ballet. Contemporary ballet incorporates both classical ballet and modern dance

Ballet Today Ballet is multi-faceted Classical forms, traditional stories and contemporary choreographic innovations intertwine to produce the character of modern ballet Choreographers continue to create diverse styles of ballets, and ballet companies are giving dance audiences a wide range of experiences in the theater Traditionally "classical" companies, such as the Kirov Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet, also regularly perform contemporary works

Pictures throughout the Years King Henry XIV Romantic Tutu Classical Tutu George Balanchine

Bibliography Ao. "The History of Ballet." History Things. Solid Opinion, 22 Mar. 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. Ballet, Atlanta. "Atlanta Ballet." History of Ballet. Atlanta Ballet, 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. Encyclopedia, New World. "Ballet." New World Encyclopedia. MediaWiki, 10 May 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. Theater, Pittsburgh Ballet. "Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre." A Brief History of Ballet. PBT, 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.