History of Ballet

Vocabulary Plié – to bend Tendu – stretched Ballet words are in French Tombé - to fall, falling Pas de bourrée – step back, side, front Grand -big Demi – half, small Grand Jeté - big leap Balancé- rocking step; waltz Sauté – jumped En Croix – on the cross Passé – passed Pique – pricked Port de bras – carriage of the arms Dégagé - Disengaged Rond de jambe – round of the leg échappé - escaping or slipping movement Changement – to change feet Glisade – to glide Echappé – escaping or slipping movement Ballet words are in French

Sickling Feet and Turn-out Sickling is a fault in which the dancer turns her foot in from the ankle therby breaking the straight line of the leg. Rotation in turn-out should come from the hip joint to limit pressure on the knees and ankles.

Origins of Ballet The art of Ballet can trace its origins to the early seventeenth century, when dancers performed to entertain audiences between scenes of an opera.

Origins of Ballet These short dances grew in popularity and importance until they became a form of theater in their own right, accompanied by a standardization of movements and defining of other stylistic conventions.

King Louis XIV, The Sun King In 1661, King Louis XIV of France founded the Académie Royale de Musique et de Danse, establishing Paris as the center of academic ballet.

French Court Ballets Most French court ballets consisted of dance scenes linked by a minimum of plot. Because they were designed principally for the entertainment of the aristocracy, rich costumes, scenery, and elaborate stage effects were emphasized.

Proscenium Stage & Professional Dancers The proscenium stage was first adopted in France in the mid-1600s, and professional dancers made their first appearance, although they were not permitted to dance in the grand ballet that concluded the performance; this was still reserved for the king and courtiers.

Court Ballet Peak The court ballet reached its peak during the reign (1643-1715) of Louis XIV, whose title the Sun King was derived from a role he danced in a ballet.

Court Ballets and Five Positions of the Feet Many of the ballets presented at his court were created by the Italian-French composer Jean Baptiste Lully and the French choreographer Pierre Beauchamp, who is said to have defined the five positions of the feet. Also during this time, the playwright Moliere invented the comedie-ballet, in which danced interludes alternated with spoken scenes.

The Move to Professional Dancers Louis XIV stopped dancing in 1670, and his courtiers followed his example. By then the court ballet was already giving way to professional dancing. At first all the dancers were men, and men in masks danced women's roles. The first female dancers to perform professionally in a theater production appeared (1681) in a ballet called Le Triomphe de l'Amour (The Triumph of Love).

Tutu and Pointe Shoes To enhance the image of the dancer’s weightlessness. Ballerinas began wearing Pointe Shoes in the mid-1800 but shoes had no support. Pointe shoes were made famous by ballerina Anna Pavlova in the 1900s. Tutu is a skirt made of a net fabric called Tule. It allowed the dancer to show their legs and feet on stage.

Tutu Tutu is a skirt made of a net fabric called Tule. It allowed the dancer to show the technique of the legs and feet on stage.

Romantic Era The era began with the 1827 début in Paris of the ballerina Marie Taglioni in the ballet La Sylphide,  The era marked the rise of the ballerina as a central part of ballet. She was one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the romantic ballet. Considered to be the first dancer to dance en pointe. Known for shortening her skirt in La Sylphide, which was considered highly scandalous at the time.  Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide

Classical Ballet Classical ballet is generally structured on a narrative pretext. It is important that the audience has an understanding of the basic story line so as to fully understand the complex combination of movement, music and storytelling that makes up a performance. Some ballets, like the Nutcracker or Sleeping Beauty, are based on traditional stories that are familiar even today; others are more obscure and require a greater effort on the part of the dancers and the audience to fully understand their meaning.

Ballet Arizona Founded in 1986 as resident ballet company for Arizona Directed by Jean-Paul Comelin formally a dancer from Stuttgart Ballet. In 2000, Ib Anderson was named artistic director. As a former dancer for New York City Ballet mounted many Balanchine dances on company.