The History Of Ballet

Early Court Dances* Humans expressed thoughts and emotions

through movement long before the development of speech.

* The origins of ballet can be traced back to the Renaissance period and the early court dances in France and Italy.

* Any celebratory occasion, such as the birth of an heir or an influential marriage would call for social court dancing. All ladies and gentlemen of the court learned these rather intricate dances as part of their grooming for society.

Ballet Comique de la Reine

In 1581, in France under the Queen Catherine De Medici, the Ballet Comique de la Reine was performed. This is considered the 1st ballet.

Ballet Comique de la Reine means "The Comic Ballet of the Queen." Catherine de Medici, arranged the ballet performance to celebrate a wedding.

The ballet started at 10pm and lasted for 5 hours. About 10,000 guests were in attendance

Ballet Masters and Choreographers

As the court dances became more detailed and complicated, it became necessary to formally codify these dances to maintain consistency.

Special dance instructors or “Ballet Masters” began to appear. These men were highly revered and considered to be the finest dance teachers. They also served as dance makers or choreographers, creating dances that were used throughout Europe.

King Louis XIV had a profound influence on the progression of ballet. Not only was he an avid supporter of dance, he was also a beloved performer.

King Louis XIV is commonly referred to as the Sun King, a name he received after appearing ornately adorned in gold as Apollo, god of the sun, in Le Ballet de la Nuit (The Ballet of the Night)

King Louis XIV

First Ballet School In 1661, King Louis XIV established the world’s first

ballet school,the Academie Royale de Danse (Royal Academy of Dance).

Pierre Beauchamps, a Ballet Master at the school, is credited with developing the five basic foot positions of ballet.

Soon other companies were founded in other countries; the Russian Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg was founded in 1738.

Previously known as the Imperial Ballet School The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is one of the most famous and influential classical ballet schools in the world.

The Pre-Romantic Period

* Pre‐Romantic period began in the early 1800s, much of the dance vocabulary used today was already in place. The Italians also became well known for their style of ballet. more women began performing in ballets.

Women’s skirts had been shortened to unheard of lengths (just above the ankle).

The Pre‐Romantic period is most noted as the origin of pointe work.

The Italian dancer Marie Taglioni, who was eighteen years old at the time, is generally considered to be the first ballerina to dance en pointe, balancing and moving on the ends of her toes.

Marie Taglioni

Costuming in the 18th century

Early dancers were burdened by corsets, masks, wigs, heeled shoes and hoopskirts.

Soon however, dancers began changing their style of dress to something more recognizable as a style worn today.

They discarded their heeled shoes, hoopskirts and corsets to allow their bodies to move more freely and to also allow the audience to see the expressive movements as they told the story.

Question Time!!!Early Court Dances were about????

What was the 1st ballet called?

King Louis XIV was also known as the ?????

King Louis XIV established the 1st ballet school called ?????

The 1st ballerina at age 18 to dance on Pointe was ????

From France to RussiaClassical ballet took off in St. Petersburg, Russia

in the late 1800s with the choreography of Marius Petipa and his associate, Lev Ivanov.

Petipa created very challenging, full‐length classic ballets for them to dance. These classic ballets always included a pas de deux (dance for two) for the male and female lead dancers followed by a difficult solo for each one of them and a coda (a short quick finale).

Marius PetipaIn 1869 Petipa became Premier Ballet Master of

the Imperial Theatre. The value of his accomplishments is inestimable: he produced more than sixty full-evening ballets.

Famous Ballets he choreographed are:Don QuixoteThe NutcrackerGiselleSleeping BeautySwan Lake

Famous Dancers From Europe

In 1934, the former Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, was renamed the Kirov Ballet. The Kirov Ballet is still recognized as one of the world’s greatest ballet companies, and has produced some of the world’s most influential dancers and choreographers, including Mikhail Fokine, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

This influential company had both strong Russian and French influences and was responsible for introducing such choreographers such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Enrico Checchetti, and George Balanchine, who eventually put American ballet in the spotlight.

George Balanchinegraduation in 1921, from the Imperial Ballet

School (the St. Petersburg academy where he had started his dance studies at the age of nine)

Balanchine made his own dancing debut at the age of ten as a cupid in the Maryinsky Theatre Ballet Company production of THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

George Balachine Ballet’s he Choreographed

During the 1960s, Balanchine created and revised nearly forty ballets

FirebirdOrpheusNutcrackerDon QuixoteJewelsApolloCabin in the SkySwan LakeA Mid Summer’s Night DreamCoppelia

Lincoln KirsteinKirstein was born in 1907 and grew up principally

in Boston. He attended Harvard University

Lincoln Kirstein harbored a dream: He wanted to establish an American school of ballet that would equal -- even rival -- the established European schools, and he wanted to establish an American ballet company.

He worked with old friends Nelson Rockefeller and Philip Johnson to build the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center (opened 1964).

LINCOLN KIRSTEIN

Who brought ballet to America?

Lincoln Kirstein met Balanchine persuaded to relocate to the United States.

George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein traveled from Europe where they studied to America and introduced Ballet.

Ballet in America began in New York City with the formation of the Ballet Theatre (presently the American Ballet Theatre) and the New York City Ballet.

The partnership of Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine was revolutionizing ballet with innovative choreography for the New York City Ballet.

The first ballet Balanchine choreographed in America was SERENADE to music by Tschaikovsky -- was created as a workshop for students at the ABT School and had its world premiere in June 1934 outdoors on the estate of a friend near White Plains, New York.

Augusta Maywood1st American ballerina to become famous in

Europe.

Studied at M and Paul Hazard’s ballet school in Philadelphia In 1836.

Made her debut in Philadelphia at age 12 in a ballet called La Sylphide.

Nickname was: “Queen of the Air”

QUESTIONS???????Who brought ballet to America?

What Ballets did Balanchine choreograph?

Marius Petipa Choreographed what ballets?

Who is Lincoln Kirstein?

Who was the queen of air?

Pas de Duex is what?

What is the Coda?

Jerome Robbins1939, Robbins was dancing in the corps (chorus)

of ballets of Balanchine.

Robbins was also dancing and choreographing At Camp Tamiment in the Poconos of PA.

From 1941 through 1944, Robbins was a soloist with the company,

In 1948, Balanchine invited the 30-year-old Robbins to join the Company as Assistant Artistic Director

Jerome RobbinsRobbins directed, with Robert Wise (director) of a

1961 version of West Side Story.

Robbins won matching Tony awards for his choreography in Fiddler on the Roof in 1964.