History of Ballet

Before we jump into how ballet impacted the Russian world and history, it is important to know exactly what ballet is. Ballet is a form of dance that has its own unique techniques, traditions, methods, schools of training, and finally a style of movement that distinguishes it from any other theatrical dance form. The word ballet derives from the Italian word "ballare" which simply means to dance. The word not only refers to the type of dance itself, but the dance company and the production as a whole. What many people think of when they hear the word ballet, is simply dancing but in reality, ballet includes four different elements and they are dancing, drama, music, and décor. However, ballet did not originate in Russia. It actually originated in Italy in the 15th century. This was referred to as the emergence of Classical Ballet. There are now many forms of ballet that derived from Classical Ballet. Some of them include Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, and of course En Pointe. When ballet was first introduced in Italy only the kings, princes, and nobles were among the dancers. Ballet was considered to be "for the elite." Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx was the first choreographer of an actual full production that was commissioned by Catherine de Medici and performed in Paris in 1581. It wasn't until 1661 that ballet actually had any academic principles. They would be formed when King Louis XIV opened the Royal Academy of Dancing in Paris that year. This academic school would lead to the fundamentals of ballet. This is where we see the five different feet positions with the arms that correspond to each foot position. Every dance step in classical originates from one of these positions. Some of these positions are arabesques, pirouettes, and glissades. Over the years ballet has since evolved and expanded. Every ballet step is codified in French universally and used in every dance company in every nation. Dancing "en pointe" became an integral part of the classical ballet form and was made famous by Marie Taglioni in 1832. Due to her great triumph, dancing "en pointe" became synonymous with ballet automatically. Classical ballet would reach its "golden age" in St. Petersburg in 1890 with the performance of Sleeping Beauty by the Imperial Marinsky Company which I will discuss more in depth in coming blog entries. This performance combined all four of the previous mentioned ballet components with the choreography of Marius Petipa, the music of Tchaikovsky, and one of the most beloved stories of all time into a huge show. This performance would lead into Russia's dominance of the Ballet world, especially in the 19th century. The Company's techniques would quickly spread through the western world during the 20th century. After the Russian Revolution, ballet emerged even faster and became even more popular. Today's Modern Ballet owes its very existence and inspiration from Russian tradition during those times. Now that we have a brief understanding of the history of ballet, let's get into the importance of the "Russian Ballet" and how it was started, how it was impacted by Russian politics, how it became a huge Russian custom, and how it is still very popular even to this day.   

Citation- Terry, Walter. "Ballet." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

 

The five positions of the feet in classical ballet