Ballet is a formalized system of dance movements and positions designed for agility, control, speed, lightness, and grace. Its technique relies on turned-out legs for greater range and pleasing lines. Classical ballet may be romantic, realistic, or mythological, divided into opening pas de deux , individual variations, and a final pas de deux , or coda. Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts and flowered in France. It gained prominence through the Académie Royale de Danse established by Louis XIV. Key elements include music, costume, and stage design, all of which contribute to the ballet's theme and atmosphere. Choreographers and dancers extend and test ballet technique, blending classical movements with contemporary ideas.

Where and when did ballet begin?

Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance as court entertainment during the 15th and 16th centuries. It then moved to France after Catherine de Médicis married Henry II of France. Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx created Ballet comique de la reine in 1581, which started court ballets in France that peaked under Louis XIV in the mid-17th century. Later, Louis XIV established the Académie Royale de Danse in 1661 to preserve classical dance.

What are some basic ballet positions and movements?

Ballet choreography is based on formalized actions that follow specific rules for the positions of the arms, feet, and body. There are five fundamental ballet positions of the feet that act as starting and ending points for movements. Basic ballet movements include the plié (knee bend), relevé (rise to the toes), tendu (extended leg), développé (gradual unfolding of the leg), and pas sauté (jumping step). Two major body positions are the arabesque, where one leg supports the body and the other extends in back, and the attitude, similar to the arabesque but with the raised leg bent. These movements give strength and flexibility, helping dancers acquire perfect posture and balance.

What do ballet dancers wear during practice and performances?

Ballet dancers' attire is designed for freedom of movement and to enhance the visual effect of dance. In early ballets, dancers wore heeled shoes and heavy, court-like costumes, with masks concealing facial expressions. By the late 18th century, reforms led to lighter tunics inspired by Grecian robes. Tights, invented in 1790, allowed for new steps, and pointe shoes, introduced around 1820, enabled dancing on point. The " Romantic tutu ," a multilayered skirt, became standard in the 19th century but was often replaced in modern ballets with contemporary street dress or practice wear. Ballet slippers are soft, heelless shoes made of kid or fabric, often reinforced at the toe.

How is a ballet performance structured or organized?

Ballet performances are structured by the choreographer, who arranges movements into patterns. Narrative ballets follow a plot, while others emphasize movement and form. Music is integral, dictating the rhythm and mood, and influencing the choreography. Nineteenth-century classical ballets often span an entire evening and are divided into acts. A classical pas de deux includes a supported adagio, solo variations for each dancer, and a coda displaying virtuosity. Formations tend to be symmetrical, with lines or circles framing the main dancers. The corps de ballet is the ensemble of a ballet company.

What are some famous ballets and who are well-known ballet dancers?

Ballet boasts a rich history and many famous works. Swan Lake , known for its score and the "Dance of the Cygnets," remains popular. Other well-known ballets include Giselle , The Nutcracker , and The Sleeping Beauty . Many dancers have achieved stardom in ballet. The audience admires prominent dancers such as Galina Ulanova , Maya Plisetskaya , Natalia Dudinskaya , Alicia Alonso , Erik Bruhn , and Maria Tallchief . Rudolf Nureyev , Margot Fonteyn , Natalia Makarova , Mikhail Baryshnikov , Sylvie Guillem , Nina Ananiashvili , Carlos Acosta , and Misty Copeland have also been recognized for their talent. Other British dancers include Svetlana Beriosova , Darcey Andrea Bussell , and Ninette de Valois .

ballet

Images & Videos

Marie Taglioni poses in a ballet costume with a knee-length dress, veil, and ballet slippers, circa 1850.

George Balanchine adjusts Beryl Grey's leg and foot as she balances en pointe, demonstrating ballet technique on stage.

Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn dancing in the ballet Sleeping Beauty, 1973.

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova

At a Glance

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History

History through 1945

The emergence of ballet in the courts of Europe

Ballet traces its origins to the Italian Renaissance, when it was developed as a court entertainment. During the 15th and 16th centuries the dance technique became formalized. The epicentre of the art moved to France following the marriage of the Italian-born aristocrat Catherine de Médicis to Henry II of France. A court musician and choreographer named Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx devised Ballet comique de la reine (1581; “The Queen’s Comic Ballet”), which inaugurated a long tradition of court ballets in France that reached its peak under Louis XIV in the mid-17th century.

As a court entertainment, the works were performed by courtiers; a few professional dancers were occasionally participants, but they were usually cast in grotesque or comic roles. The subjects of these works, in which dance formed only a part alongside declamation and song, ranged widely; some were comic and others had a more serious, even political, intent. Louis XIII and his son Louis XIV frequently performed in them; the younger Louis was in time regarded as the epitome of the noble style of dancing as it developed at the French court.

Eventually, developments at the French court pushed the arts aside, and the court ballet disappeared. But Louis XIV had established two academies where ballet was launched into another phase of its development: the Académie Royale de Danse (1661) and the Académie Royale de Musique (1669). The Académie Royale de Danse was formed to preserve the classical school of the noble dance. It was to last until the 1780s. By then its purpose essentially had been abrogated by the music academy, the predecessor of the dance school of the Paris Opéra.

Ballet as an adjunct to opera

The Académie Royale de Musique was to become incalculably significant in the development of ballet. The academy was created to present opera, which was then understood to include a dance element; indeed, for fully a century ballet was a virtually obligatory component of the various forms of French opera. From the beginning, the dancers of the Opéra (as the Académie was commonly known) were professional, coming under the authority of the ballet master. A succession of distinguished ballet masters (notably Pierre Beauchamp, Louis Pécour, and Gaétan Vestris) ensured the prestige of French ballet, and the quality of the Opéra’s dancers became renowned throughout Europe.

The growing appeal of ballet to an increasingly broad public in Paris was reflected in the success of opéra-ballets, of which the most celebrated were André Campra’s L’Europe galante (1697; “Gallant Europe”) and Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes galantes (1735; “The Gallant Indies”). These works combined singing, dancing, and orchestral music into numbers that were unified by a loose theme.

In the early years the most accomplished dancers were male, and it was not until 1681 that the first principal female dancer, Mlle La Fontaine, appeared. Gradually she and her successors became nearly as well-known and respected as male dancers such as Michel Blondy and Jean Balon. From the 1720s, however, with the appearance of Marie Sallé and Marie-Anne Camargo, the women began to vie with the men in technique and artistry. The retirement of Sallé and Camargo in turn coincided with the debut of one of the most celebrated dancers of all time, Gaétan Vestris, who became regarded in his prime as the epitome of the French noble style; he played an important part in establishing ballet as an independent theatrical form.

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ballet

History through 1945

The emergence of ballet in the courts of Europe

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Ballet as an adjunct to opera