Ballet History The Beginning & 19 th Century Romantic Ballet

The Beginning 15 th and 16 th Century Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century The dancing was an elaborate spectacle seen at lavish events and celebrations Dance masters taught ballet steps only to nobility In the 16 th century an Italian Noblewoman, and patron of the art, began to fund ballet in the French court.

The Beginning 17 th Century In the 17 th Century King Louis XIV helped to popularize and standardize the art form He took ballet from a pastime for amateurs to an endeavor requiring professional training By late 1600s a dance academy opened in Paris and Ballet was taken from the courts to the stage The French Opera began to incorporate Ballet in its performances and began a longstanding opera-ballet tradition in France

The Beginning 18 th Century Mid 18 th Century Jean Georges Noverre rebelled against Ballet accompanying Opera and believed that ballet could stand alone as its own art form He thought that ballet should contain expressive, dramatic movement, and that movement should reveal the relationships between characters His notions introduced the ballet d’action, a dramatic style of ballet that conveys a narrative Noverre’s work is considered the precursor to the narrative ballets of the 19th century

Romantic Ballet 19 th Century The Romantic Movement of the 19 th Century brought forth classical ballets such as Giselle and La Sylphide These ballets were often concerned with the supernatural world of spirits and magic and often showed women as passive and fragile During this time pointe work became the norm for the ballerina to give the female lightness and an ethereal quality The costumes of this time were the romantic tutu, a calf-length, full skirt made of tulle

Romantic Ballet 19 th Century During the mid 19 th Century Ballet soared in Russia and new choreographers and composers took it to new heights with The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake The main purpose was to display classical technique: pointe work, high extensions, precision of movement and turn-out to the fullest Complicated sequences that show off demanding steps, leaps and turns were choreographed into the story The classical tutu, much shorter and stiffer than the romantic tutu, was introduced at this time to reveal a ballerina’s legs and the difficulty of her movements and footwork

Names to Remember King Louis XIV made ballet an art form that required professional training Jean Georges Noverre pushed to have ballet stand alone apart from the Opera, his work was the precursor to story ballets Carlotta Grisi, Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler were famous ballerina during the Romantic Movement Marius Petipa was a Russian choreographer most known for The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake