Evolution Of Ballet

When you think of ballet the many things that comes to mind is tutus and pointe shoes. Although many people don't know the true history and origin of ballet it's safe to say that ballet has become a style dance that is well know around the world from all walks of life. Ballet is an art form which is evolving and changing with the years to come. Ballet began in the 15th century Italian Renaissance courts. The term “Ballet” comes from the italian word ‘ballare” which translates to “to dance”. During the time Catherine de Medici of Italy married the French King Henry II,many different dance styles were introduced into the french courts shortly after. Her husband funded the ballet french courts along with creating festivals that help expand the ballet de cour which is a program that involved not only dance but song,music and poetry. About a century later Louis XIV really jump started the popularity and made it into an art form where people viewed it like they viewed paintings. Louis XIV was a passionate dancer who performed many dances himself including Ballet De La Nuit’s “Sun King”. With his love of ballet he influenced it from becoming a amatuer pass time to something that needed professional training. By 1661 a ballet academy had opened up in Paris and shortly after in 1681 ballet moved from the courts to the big stage. A well known French opera Le Triomphe de l’Amour included different ballet elements, creating a type of opera-ballet tradition that lasted a long time in france. But By the mid-1700s a French ballet master Jean Georges Noverre went against the opera-ballet, believing that the dance style could stand on its own as an art form. Early classical ballets such as Giselle along with La Sylphide were made during the beginning of the 19th century in what is called the Romantic Movement. …show more content…
The Romantic movement influenced art, music including ballet. It was interest with the supernatural world like spirits/magic often showed women as delicate and fragile. These themes are shown in the ballets are called romantic ballets. This is also when dancers started dancing on the tips of the toes, known as pointe, which we see now on ballerinas. A romantic tutu included, a calf-length, and full skirt made of tulle, was introduced as the uniform for a ballerina dancer. From Italian roots, ballets in France and Russia developed their own style of ballet and training their dancers in that style.. By 1850 Russia had become a leading creative center of the dance world,creating many schools that trained dancers as young as the age of 5 until they grew to become a full professional ballerina. Ballet continued to evolve, creating new looks and different theatrical illusions. The popularity of ballet increased in Russia, and, during the end of the 19th century, Russian choreographers including many composers went the extra mile. Marius Petipa’s The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, by Petipa and Lev Ivanov,are all beautiful representations of a classical ballet in its best complete art form. The main purpose was to display classical technique — pointe work, high extensions, precision of movement and turn-out to the fullest. The much shorter and stiffer tutu was introduced at this time to show off a ballerina’s legs including the full movements and footwork. In the