The History of Ballet

Name:_________________________________

ATC 1OY

Read the pages attached and answer the following questions.

1. Dance survived the dark ages as part of a group of
entertainers that traveled from town to town.
For whom did they perform?

What forms of entertainment did they present?

2. Describe the acrobatic skills performed by medieval traveling

entertainers.

3. When the pope banned dance as pagan and immoral some

dances remained.
Name these traditional dances.

What is the name for after-dinner dancing?

4. Ballet began during the Renaissance period.

Describe the following:

Country of origin

Century it began

Location of dance performances

Audiences who?, where?

People who performed the dancing

Costumes worn

Date of the first ballet performance

Date of the first ballet performance on stage in a theatre

The king who popularized it

5. KIng Louis XIV of France was an important contributor to the

history of ballet.
Outline 3 important contributions that he made to the art of
ballet during his reign as king.
i)

ii)

iii)

6. What importance was placed on the art of dancing to people who

were part of the court? Why?

7. King Louis XIV had an ulterior motive for making dance so

important to the courts of france. What was it?

8. Name three dances that were performed as court dances in the

renaissance.
i)

ii)

iii)

9. Louis XIV established the Academie Royale de la danse in 1661.

Describe three changes that occurred as dance became a
profession.
i)

ii)

iii)