BRIEF HISTORY OF BALLET
By Wendy Oliver
Ballet refers to both a dance genre and a particular dance
-A dance genre is a large category such as ballet, modern, or jazz
-Swan Lake or The Rite of Spring are both ballets or dances
Ballet performances blend choreographed movement with
music and décor, and are performed by dancers trained
primarily in classical ballet technique.
Photo by MR Legman
Indiana University Ballet
Ballet technique includes the following characteristics:
-5 positions of the feet, using “turnout”
-use of pointed feet, with emphasis on the feet
-toe shoes for women
-codified positions of arms and legs
-lightness, or pull away from gravity
-movements emphasizing balance and elevation
Ballet uses French terminology such as
-plié (bend of the knees)
-pirouette (turn on one foot)
-grand jeté (leap)
Traditional Romantic or Classical ballet is typically done
to orchestral music of the 19th century. The choreographer
follows the rhythm and phrasing of the music, which was
created specifically for the ballet by composers such as
Peter Tchaikovsky and Serge Prokofiev.
Major ballet companies may have 60-80
members, and are organized hierarchically,
with the corps de ballets at the bottom, then
coryphees, soloists, and principals at the
top. Most ballet companies showcase the
works of various choreographers in both
traditional and modern styles.
Milwaukee Ballet Company
Ballet first developed in Europe in the Renaissance period.
-In Italy and France, dancing masters taught royalty and
choreographed entertainments for the courts
-Italian intermezzi (late 1400s) were interludes between
acts of plays that combined dance, music, and drama
-In the 1500 & 1600s, dancing masters began recording
their choreography.
Catherine de Medici was a great patron of
the arts, and commissioned many dance
Works, including Ballet Comique de la
Reine, a six-hour dance/drama involving
both the Greek gods and the Queen of
France!
Renaissance Dance
• Renaissance court spectacles were
often ornate
• They emphasized geometrical
patterns
• They used steps that were taken
from the popular ballroom dances
of the day, including the pavane
galliard, volta, and others
• Women and men did these dances
together in the ballroom, but
onstage, the women’s parts were
danced by men
• Steps became increasingly
complex, and dancing masters
asked their pupils to practice them
holding onto the backs of chairs
for balance; this is how the ballet
barre developed
• Dancing became stylish at all
Renaissance courts in Europe,
including those of Queen
Elizabeth I and Henry VIII
Thoinot Arbeau, a French canon in the
Roman Catholic church, wrote one of the
first dance books, Orchesography, in
1589. It was a collection of the standard
social dances of the time, and included
correct social behavior and positions of
the feet.
Clothing was bulky and tight in the torso,
restricting movement mostly to the feet.
Over time, ballet became more
professionalized.
In the early 1700’s, two women,
Marie Camargo and Marie Sallé,
broke tradition in the maledominated field.
Marie Camargo
-Camargo shortened her skirt to
show off her technique. She
was known for her aerial work.
-Sallé was the first female
choreographer, and also
simplified her clothing to make
dancing easier.
Marie Salle
In the late 1700’s, Jean-George Noverre
composed 150 ballets which emphasized
acting over dance technique. He argued
that ballet should be unified works of art
in which all aspects of the production
contribute to the main theme, and that
bulky skirts and heeled shoes be eliminated. Although none of his choreography
survives today, many of his ideas carried
over into the Romantic Era.
The Golden Age of Romanticism
Early-Mid 1800’s
Romanticism was a movement involving all the arts, which
rebelled against narrow ideas of morality and old artistic
forms
• Poet Lord Byron and composer Franz Liszt are two examples
of artists from the romantic era
• Two examples of famous romantic ballets are Les Sylphides
and Giselle. Giselle was choreographed in 1841 by Jules
Perot and Jean Coralli to music by Adolphe Adam. This
ballet is still performed extensively today.
• Romantics often dealt with longing for the unattainable
• Giselle epitomizes this longing: a young peasant woman falls
in love with a man whom she can never marry, and she dies of
a broken heart.
Characteristics of Romantic ballet:
-Dancing en pointe
-First tutus created
-Women became dominant
-Sylphs and fairies; supernatural
-Ill-fated love
Giselle
Women were also choreographing ballets at this time.
-Fanny Cerrito choreographed Gemma, about an
evil hypnotist’s attempts to seduce a young woman.
-Terese Elssler choreographed La Voliere, about a
woman who raises her younger sister among women
only.
Dancing En Pointe
• Toe dancing, or dancing en
pointe, was invented during the
romantic era
• Today, toe shoes are made with
reinforced toe boxes that are stiff
• In the 1800’s, ballerinas wore soft
slippers without support, but still
managed to dance en pointe, due
to their training
• Marie Taglioni is the most famous
pointe dancer of the era; her style
was light and airy
Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide 1832
The Classical Period of Ballet, late 1800’s
-Moved from France to Russia
-Marius Petipa, Frenchman, arrived in St. Petersburg in 1847 as
A dancer, and eventually headed the Imperial Russian Ballet
-Choreographed many ballets with fairy-tale plots using pantomime and special effects
-Emphasized symmetry and classical pas de deux
-Most famous ballet is Swan Lake, 1890, to music by Tchaikowsky
-The Nutcracker is also from this period, by Lev Ivanov
-More demanding technical work was created; soloists often added
their own steps to show off
Nijinsky in
Afternoon of
A Faun
Le Sacre du Printemps, reconstruction, Florence Dance
Early 1900’s & The Ballet Russes
-Michel Fokine created a new style of ballet which moved away
from showy technique and pantomime
-Blended music, décor, and costumes to support a theme
-Became a choreographer for famed Ballet Russes
-Most famous work is The Firebird, to music by Stravinsky
-The Ballet Russes became known for its modern style using famous
visual artists like Picasso to design sets and costumes
-Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed The Rite of Spring to music by
Stravinsky, causing a riot in Paris in 1913
In 1933, George
Balanchine came from
Russia to the US to
start the first serious
ballet company.
His style was a break
From tradition; he created
plotless ballets and focused Balanchine’s Agon
more on the music than décor.
His costumes often were simple leotards and tights. Although
he died in 1983, his company, the New York City Ballet, is
one of the most famous in the world today; his ballets are
performed internationally.
Review by Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
January 24, 2003
Square Dance (1957): Music by Arcangelo Corelli
and Antonio Vivaldi, Choreography by George
Balanchine, Lighting by Mark Stanley, Performed by
Yvonne Borree, Peter Boal, and the Company. This
light, but dynamic, piece included the vivacity of
Peter Boal, whom I admire more and more on each
visit to NYC Ballet. Partnering the elegant Yvonne
Borree, he was focused, with a huge presence,
amazing leg lifts, and sharp footwork. This
choreography, brilliantly conceived by George
Balanchine, fused American Folk Dance with Ballet.
Balanchine wrote, "The American style of classical
dancing, its supple sharpness and richness of metrical
invention, its superb preparation for risks, and its
high spirits were some of the things I was trying to
show in this ballet." (NYCB Notes). The essence of
Square Dance moves were extrapolated and
embellished for Baroque Italian music. With
freshness of spirit, the female dancers performed for
the males and vice versa, like a show for each other,
not competitive, but rather seductive.
Arthur Mitchell’s
Dance Theatre of Harlem
-First professional black ballet company
-Originally, many thought blacks could
not do classical ballet, but Arthur
Mitchell proved them wrong
-After performing with Balanchine for
Several years, he left in 1968 to form
DTH
-They perform both traditional
and modern ballets; all their
dancers are classically trained
in their New York studios
International Style in Ballet
• In the mid-20th century, as world
travel became more common,
audiences and artists alike were
exposed to the work of a broad
range of artists and companies.
• This resulted in a large sharing of
repertoire, where ballet companies
from many countries showcase
works by internationally famous
choreographers such as John
Forsythe, George Balanchine, Jiri
Kylian, Choo San Goh, Anthony
Tudor, Twyla Tharp, and Glen
Tetley. This trend continues
today.
Australian Ballet in a Glen Tetley work, 2003
Contemporary Choreographers
William Forsythe works with pure,
abstract movement from the classical
vocabulary, at a very fast pace.
Although American, he has spent
much of his time in Germany, where
artists are government-supported.
Twyla Tharp is a modern
dancer who has choreographed
For ballet companies and
Broadway. Above is Mozart
Clarinet Quintet, K. 581, 2002.
Jiri Kylian
• Jiri Kylian, a Czech, is an
independent spirit who
choreographs using a ballet basis
to which he has added modern
elements including the use of the
pelvis and torso
• Although his work is abstract, it
can be metaphorical and is often
very emotional
• He uses quick weight changes,
high energy movement, and
intricate partnering
Stepping Stones by Jiri Kylian, 1991
Ballet at the End of 20th Century
• According to dance scholar Nancy
Reynolds, ballet reached a “high
tide” around the world in the
period between the 1960’s -1980’s
with a lot of innovation
• Ballet at the end of the 20th c
flourished in terms of social
relevance, audience appreciation,
and dancers’ salaries, although it
did not maintain the high level of
originality of the 60s-80s
• In addition, new technologies
allowed extensive documentation
of work
Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet
Ballet in the 21st Century
• Classics such as Don Quixote and
Giselle continue on
• Local, regional, and national
companies continue to perform
The Nutcracker at Christmas time
• Newer choreographers have more
experimental styles, often
borrowing from modern and other
dance forms
• Ballet in the 21st c has a global
reach that shows its importance as
a common language across
cultures
Letitia Guerrero in the title role of Festival Ballet’s
Carmen, choreographed in 2003 by Victor Plotnikov,
Providence, RI
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23. www.wanthony.com/Article%20Arch... (Jiri Kylian)
24. www.linesballet.org (Alonzo King)
25. www.ridance.com/fbcarmen.html (Festival Ballet)
26. http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2002-03-13/arts_dance-1.jpg
27. Jack Anderson, Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise History
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