The History of Ballet

Part 1 – Dance in the Courts of Paris

• The arts in the medieval era was gaining importance and a more structured format.
• Technique of performance and grandeur of presentation became very important
• Italy was an important city for art, design, fashion and flamboyance – all influenced
by the Royalty
• In 1581, the Duke, Henry II married a woman who was form the native Italy who
went on to create a very important mark in the history and development of dance
 Catherine de Medici
• Catherenie de Medici was the Queen of Paris and the mother of Henry III who ruled between 1574
and 1589
• Though not in power, she had a very strong influence and part to play in the ruling of the Kingdom.
• Apart from politics affairs, she was a woman of sophistication and class. She brought from Italy a
fashion wave of costumes, accessories and cosmetics.
• It is believed that she filled her mansion wall with 119 mirrors.
• In 1581 her sister, Maurgeurite de Lorraine wedded Duc de Joyeuese.
• She wished to conduct this wedding as the pinnacle of grandeur and arranged for a dance spectacle,
a first of its kind.
• From Italy Baldassariona da Belgiojoso (Blasthasar de Beaujoyeulx in France) was called to what
we call now choreograph and produce a dance presentation.
• Beaujoyeulx was a musician, dancer and choreographer.
• He choreographed the Ballet Comique de la Reine (originally named Balet Conique de la Royne).
• This was one of the first and most important record of an attempt to create a choreographic work
which was elaborated and magnificent.
• It was the beginning of a new era in Paris for the arts.
• It was named ‘ballet’ but the meaning of this term was completely different from what we witness
and know today as ballet.
• Also, the term comique was not to intend the nature of the dance spectacle to comic.
• Comique roots back to the French word comedie which translates as drama.
• Similar to any drama, this spectacle also had poetry verse, recitation with songs and music.
• This music for Ballet Comique de la Reine by Lamber de Beauieu and Jacques Salmon
• The presentation was done on the center of the hall with audience seated around them at a height,
similar to an apmhi-theatre.
• The plot of Ballet Comique de la Reine is close to Greek mythology. Circe who is an enchantress
tries to conquer the nature and become the Queen of Seasons. She was defeated by the Gods and
Minerva who was the Goddess of wisdom.
• A very interesting aspect in the performances of the Royal courts was that the queen or king will be
a part of the performance – not as a dancer but as the supreme character to whom all other
characters bow down in reverence.
• The magnificence of the ballet was incomparable. They used mechanics of suspension and
movement creating an illusive impact.
• The ballet was a very long one and was believed to have taken place over 6 hours.
• With the endling of the ballet, some medals were exchanged which had a symbolic representation.
Queen Louis (Catherine de Medici) gave her husband one with the image of a dolphin which was
representative of an heir. This is understood with two meanings: The Royal couple did not have a
son and in French Dauphin refers both to Dolphin and to an heir.
Delphinum ut delphinem rependat was a matrimonial pun: ‘a dolphin is given to receive a dauphin’.
• Ballet Comique, apart form having personal references also held a lot of philosophical importance
with respect to the plot of the ballet.
• Ballet Comique de la Rein was a huge success and Catherine de Medici was so impressed that she
has published and circulated detailed descriptions of the ballet all through the country.
• From after the first ballet was staged, it became a regular practice for the royal palace to stage ballet
spectacles that were extraordinary.
• It became a way of showing the artistic and aesthetic richness of the kingdom.
• Let Ballet des Polonais (1573) was one that was presented when the country of Paris hosted some
delegates from Poland.
• This was also choregraphed by Baldasar de Beaujoyeulx with the music by Orlando di Lasso and
poetic verses by Pierre Ronsard.
• The choreograph, this time had mor evident patterns and lines showing that with time and practice
there was a certain technique was being devised.
• Like this Renaissance courts became the biggest patron, stage and presenter of Le Ballet Comique.
• Dance spectacles like Le Ballet Comique other similar presentations were inspired by the principles
laid down by Academie de Musiques et de la Poesie (Academy of Music and Poetry).
• This was an organization that was created by Jean-Antoine de Baїf and a composer Thibault de
Courville in 1570 with the purpose of preserving the ancient Greek and Roman arts. They heold an
important place in western drama as they brought music, poetry and dance and stage design under a
common umbrella of drama.
• Renaissance spectacles were greatly inspired by poetry and literature and also had sections of verses
that were recited knows as récits.
• The court presentations, though grand were ultimately amateur performances as, at the time there
was no defined technique so to say.
• However, it took inspiration from the existing ballroom dances and refined them to look more
sophisticated and organized.
• Thus there began to evolve a technique and pattern that was formulated through years of experience
and inspirations.
 The History of Ballet

Part 2 – Techniques and Texts of Dance

• The 16th and 17th century dances included:
1. Pavane: This was a ceremony dance that was seen in the ballroom.
2. Galliard: This too was a ballroom dance but was more lively with leap and kicks.
3. Courante: It was performed in a swift manner with runs and glides.
4. Volta or Lavolta: It was a couple dance where the women would be lifted and turned in the air by
the men.
5. Sarabande: This was a couple dance that many thought of as lustful.
• These dances were danced by both men and women but the women were allowed to participate
only in the ballroom. In the court, it was only the men who danced both male and female parts.
• Also, as a general practice of choreography, the men had the jumps and leaps while women were
give the emphasis of graceful and lighter steps.
• So, the foundation of dance technique that the renaissance spectacles were built upon were the
ballroom dances of that era.
• However, with progression of time and expertise, the practice of preparing the body and intricacy of
steps became the two pillars upon which the dance technique was built.
• Some practice techniques included stretches using ropes and hanging on the back of chairs. This
probably the predecessor of the popular barre exercises of modern ballet.
• While practice and dance technique was being taught, another important aspect of being trained in
the arts was behavior, etiquette and manners of sophisticated socializing.
• One example of this is seen in Orchésographie by Thoinot Arbeau (originally named Jehan
Tabourot):
“Spit and blow away your nose sparingly, or if needs must turn your head away and use a fair white
handkerchief… Be suitably and neatly dressed, your hose well secured and your shoes clean…”

• Thus, dancing, along with riding and fencing became skills that a ‘gentleman’ must acquire.
• Sometimes, these skills were combined. One such example is the Hauté Ecole. This horse ballet
gained popularity from the 16th century where horses were trained to dance in different
arrangements and patterns.
• With more ballet experiments similar to Ballet Comique de la Rein coming up, some thought was
given to the arena of presentation and the choreographic patterns that could be made.
• The audience was seated around the central podium such that they had an ariel view of the action.
• The dancers made geometric figures that had specific symbolizations:
Triangles – Justice, Three cojoined circles – Truth known, A square within a square – Virtuous Design,
Three circles within each other – Perfect Truth
• Though the elite dancing was exclusive to the men, in Seville, a Spanish city, women had
respectable positions as choreographers.
• The Cathedral religious dance services ranged from theatricalized ballroom dances to dramatic
elaboration of historical and religious themes.
• Although all women in these troupes were required to be married they had great artistic freedom.
Some who had great careers as choreographers were: Leonara Rica, Germana Ortiz, Anna de
Medina, Josefa de Ce’spedes, Juana Valentin de Medina and Felipa de San Francisaca.
 The History of Ballet

Part 3 – Ballet in the United Kingdom

• Dance was the most elite and sophisticated form of entertainment at all the courts of Renaissance.
• Queen Elizabeth I loved to dance an thus popularized Theatrical spectacles containing dancing in
Great Britain from the time of Henry VIII.
• The most elaborate and unique form in the 17th century were the masques written by Ben Jonson
and designed by Inigo Jones.
• The masque contained poetic declamations, songs and dances upon serious metaphorical themes
which were interspersed with contrasting terrific interludes known as Antimasque.
• As a finale the audience was asked to join the artistes thus making theatre a socially inclusive event.
People dancing together could be interpreted as a sign of social harmony and stability.
• During the 1630s Charles I played leading roles in some masques. In Slamacidan Spolia, one of the
last court masques, he portrayed the role of a king of a troubled realm which may have been a
representation of his own political affairs.
• English masques had many dance sequences, but saw more importance given the literary content
than the choreographic elements of movement.
• This restricted a professional development and growth of dance in the Britain.
The History of Ballet

Part 4 – Ballet in France

• France became the epicenter and focal point for the growth, development and popularity of ballet.
• The French looked to Italy as a source of inspiration because it was the source of many
developments in art, music and dance. With the fame of the French court increasing, Italian artists,
composers, dancers, dancing masters sought positions in France.
• The elite and fine manners of the French became the fundamental foundation for the
representational structure of ballet. Dance prospered in this environment and so balletic dance and
movement is aristocratic in nature and it retains French names till date.
• Louis XIII danced in court ballets and was an all rounded artiste who also wrote the scenario and
the music for his spectacles.
• Monarchs most definitely took the lead in balletic spectacles rising the dignity of the art form itself.
• In 1617, he portrayed the spirit of fire (a cleanser of impurity) in the Ballet de la De’livrance de
Renaud, work inspired by Torquato Tasso’s epic poem, Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem
delivered).
• The combination of that plot and the king’s casting himself as the cleansing force would have been
indicative of his own battles against conspiracies.
• He not only enjoyed protagonist roles but also enjoyed playing comic roles and was particularly
fond of portraying women.
• Apart from characterization and choreography, the French ballets raised the standards in terms of
illusion and magical presentations.
• The projection was always larger than life.
• A popular form of entertainment in this time was the ballet de entrée.
• It was a series of independent linked together by a broad general theme. The episodic and
individual construction of the plot made it possible for them to be as simple or as lavish as required.
• They contained roles for a wide variety of characters. Thus, the cast of the Ballet des Fees de la
Foret de Saint-Germain of 1625 included rouletter players, spanish dancers, warriors, doctors and
headhunters.
• This made it a versatile and largely inclusive form which promoted a multidimensional growth of
not just one type of dance.
• The grotesque scenes in such works required more agile performers since the movement was more
intricate and vigorous.
• After 1630, professional entertainers were hired.
• This thus meant there was beginning to be distinction between professional and amateur.
• Professionalization meant that a pedagogy and method of training and technique was being devised.
• The clergy of France, the Jesuit, encouraged dancing unlike other countries. The two leading
academic schools of the 17rh century Paris, the College d’Harcourt ad the College de Clermont
were both run by the Jersuit.
• Both institutions made sure dancing was prominently featured in the annual school plays.
• In fact, a priest, Pere Menestrier, became an influential writer on dance in the 1680s.
• Among the several changes that occurred in the ballet in the 17th century, the most important was
that ballet moved out of ballroom and halls into proscenium theatres.
• The rich scenic possibilities of the proscenium theatre became evident when Cardinal Mazarin, who
sponsored Italian opera in Paris, invited Giacomo Torelli, one of the greatest Italian stage designers
of the era, to work for him.
• The proscenium theatre proved to be ideally suited for dance presentations.
• Because most members of the audience now faced the stage straight-on, choreographers could
emphasize individual human figures as well as massed ensembles. This further encouraged ballet’s
professionalization with a different approach of presentation.
• In early proscenium theatres there were ramps extending from stage to the auditorium to allow
performers and spectators to dance together at the end of the ballet. Also, until the mid18 th century,
the audience was even allowed to sit on the stage.
• But, with time the proscenium arch helped to separate door and watcher.
• French court ballet reached its peak under Louis XIV, who reigned from 1643-1715.
• Dance was always part of his life as his is birth was celebrated by an entertainment called the Ballet
de la Felicite.
• Louis began dancing as a boy and Cardinal Mazarin who his mentor for education. However, he
stressed more on the dancing lessons than the grammar lessons.
• Louis first danced in the public in the year 1651 when he was 13 years old and by the time he was a
young man he was appearing several times a week in ballets.
• He took ballet very seriously. It was in ballet that he could become the embodiment of one of his
most famous epithets, the “Sun King”.
• A medal was given to him at his birth that proclaimed him as the Orbis Solis Gallicic meaning The
Risen Sun of Gaul.
• In one of the ballets, Ballet de la Nuit, there was a representation of a real life attack that happened
on Louis XIV. The climax of the ballet showed thieves trying to loot a burning house which is
stopped by Aurora who brings the Rising Sun (the king), Honour, Grace, Love, Victory, Riches,
Fame and Peace which was to reinstate that the monarch would remain the absolute power in
France.
• Louis’s entire life was made to be very theatrical and grand – simple functions of dressing and
meals were made ceremonies..
• Art and life were inseparable.
• This lead to the life of even a French layman becoming an act of play, a show.
• The city too was planned and built with frequent open spaces where people could gather, perform.
• Louis XIV collaborated with the finest of talents:
Isaac de Benserade – a poet and screen writer.
Jean Bérain – a scene and costume designer. He also created illusions like storms, flying Gods, etc.
• Costumes were meant to bejeweled so that the reflection on the candles and mirrors of the palace
would brighten up everything.
• The costumes of the period were inspired by the heroic styles of the Roman empire but had
creative imaginations.
• One of the stark features of the then costumes were the tonnelet. It was a hooped skirt, the height if
the mid-thigh.
• The ballets of the Louis XIV courts were very lavish and sophisticated.
• The only notated ballet that survived Le Mariage de la Grosse Cathos, a comic ballet which was
similar to ballet-mascaraed.
• A mascaraed was similar in format to ballet á entrée but had the drama, dialogues, dances and songs
all connected by a single theme.
• Mascarades were mostly staged during festivals and carnivals just before the Lent season.
• The notation mentions that the music was scored by André Danican Philidor J’anîé and
choreographed by Jean Favier.
• Jean Baptise Lully was a sought after music composer who had scored music for may of the court
ballets.
• He was originally from Florence and was a comic dancer in the commedia dell’arte genre that
flourished in the mid 16th century.
• As other members of a group of the commedia dell’art, he too was versatile – trained in music,
dance, playing instuments, acting, etc.
• This genre was the one that had the greatest influence on French theatre, particularly French
comedy.
• In 1653, Lully began his association with Louis XIV.
• Initially a dancer, he gained importance as a musician ad composer of sophisticated music.
• Lully’s theatrical productions may seem like a hybridization of art – operas had dancing and ballets
had songs and poetic recitation.
• He was responsible for the creation of the genre comédie-ballet along with a great comic playwright
Moilère.
• This was extensively celebrated as a three-day festival in Versailles – Les Plaisirs de l’Ile Echanteé.
That involved drama, dance, music, mock comats, fireworks and banqueting.
• Comédie-ballet had spoken dialogue interspersed with dancing interludes and may be the ancestral
form of musical comedy.
• One great example was Moilère’s Les Bourgeois Gentilhomme which talks about a normal person
trying to master the aristrocat skills of singing, dancing and fencing and tries to fit in as an Oriental
potentate.
• Foremost dancer of this era: Pierre Beauchamps, Louis XIV’s teacher.
• He holds a legacy of dancing masters and violinists.
• He was instrumental in laying down certain fundamental techniques of ballet that remain even
today – The five feet positions.
• However, the recent reductions and simplifications of the costume has made it possible for dancers
to showcase technique over grandeur.
• The modern-day turnout is an inspiration of the fencing stance. This position was adopted as the
then dance masters understood that this position increased flexibility of the body, stability and
balance owing to its equal division from the central meridian of the human body. It increased the
opening out and gave the dancing body more space for movement which increased the clarity of the
movements.
• Louis XIV stopped dancing in the 1670s but never stopped encouraging and facilitating the growth
and development of ballet.
• In 1661 he founded a major institutions – Académie de Royale de Danse which was an associatin
of ballet teachers.
• In 1669 with more emphasis and a broader purview, the Académie de Royale de la Musique was
founded which survives as the Paris Opera.
• This is the world’s oldest ballet company with Pomone being its maiden performance.
• The Paris Opera was equally inclusive of women and this was porbably the major shift that moved
ballet dancers from being men to women.
• Among the most famous ballerinas was Mlle de la Fontaine who premiered in Lully’s Le Triomphe
de L’Amour in 1681 and was also one of the first Prima Ballerinas in history.