A Breif History of Ballet

Dancing as a spectacle has its origins in remote history, being known in different forms in virtually all of the ancient classical civilisations. Consequently, it is often difficult to pinpoint just when a particular form arose. In the case of the Ballet however, it is generally regarded to have had its roots in the Ducal courts of Renaissance Italy. It was commonplace at that time for the various Dukes and Princes to compete with each other in providing the most lavish entertainments. These generally included dancing at the forefront, and professional dancing masters were often employed to perfect the performances. These dance routines were called balli or balletti, the origin of the modern term.

When King Louis XII of France invaded the Italian peninsula in 1499, taking Milan and, breifly, Naples the French were much impressed by the splendours of the Italian courts. Whilst dancing had long been popular as a courtly pastime in France it was generally loosely organised relying more on elaborate costumes and scenery than quality of performance. It was not until the arrival in France of some of the Italian Dancing masters that it began to take on a set form. When Catherine De Medici of Florence, a neice of Pope Clement VII, became Queen of France in 1547 following her husbands accession to the throne (as Henry II) she did much to further this development. She had very little political power but had a vast influence on French fashions, and was famous for the sumptuousness of the banquets she threw and for which she would bring in troupes of dancers from Italy.

She also brought over from Italy a talented musician named Balthazar de Beaujoyleux to be her cheif musician and Master of Ceremonies. Beaujoyleux could be considered to the father of modern ballet as it was one of his productions that is generally considered to have been the first true ballet. This was a magnificent undertaking staged in the great hall of the Palais du Petit-Bourbon in 1581, arranged in honour of the wedding of Marguerite of Lorraine, sister-in-law of Henry III. Titled the 'Balet Comique de la Royne' it lasted around five to six hours ending with the grand ballet. Remarkably, detailed written records including a number of pictorial engravings still exist so a great deal is known of the content of this production.

Whilst still looking to Italy for innovation and inspiration, ballet became an integral part of French courtly activities for the next hundred years, and when other European countries adopted the form it was generally from Paris and Versailles that they took their lead. To this day, the official language of ballet, on which all ballet terms are based, is still French. Court ballet in France reached its peak during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), indeed his common epithet of "the Sun King" was based on a role he danced in a ballet. It also branched into new forms, such as comedie-ballet which consisted of a play in which the various scenes were seperated by dances, and opera-ballet which based equal emphasis on singing and dancing. In 1661 Louis established the world's first ballet school, the Académie Royale de Danse housed in a room in the Louvre in Paris its artists developed the foot positions and basic techniques of classical ballet. Up to this time all dancers were male, and many of the basic movements were reminiscent of moves from fencing and sword practice from which they were probably derived.

The creation of the Académie led to the place of courtiers in the court ballets beening taken over by professional dancers with a significant rise in standards. With intensive training, the professionals were able to develop skills far beyond those of the amateurs. Moreover, it was not long before the male monopoly was broken, by the end of the 17th Century increasing numbers of female professional dancers had already begun to appear. Marie Camargo and Marie Salle who each appeared around the first quarter of that century were the first great ballerinas. They were each instrumental in reforming ballet costume to permit further advances in style and technique. The professional dancers had at first retained the elaborate costumes of the courtiers, encumbered with masks, wigs or large headdresses, heeled shoes and heavy or restricting vestments. Women were hampered panniers and long skirts. Camargo shortened her skirts and wore heeless slippers to give her greater freedom of movement and Salle once discarded her heavy costume in favour of a simple lightweight muslin dress.

As the era of the court ballet began to wane the professional dancers had to increasingly look to the theatres for employment, bringing ballet to a much wider audience. French choreographer Jean Noverre was instrumental in reforming ballet and developing a more naturalistic style where dancers used their faces and bodies to convey emotions and develop the story. By the latter part of the 18th century the cumbersome costumes and heeled shoes had completely disappeared allowing dancers much more freedom of movement.

In 1794, Charles Didelot invented a contraption which allowed dancers to rise up onto their toes supported by invisible wires before being whisked up into the air to sail across the stage, giving them a magical ethereal quality. Leaving France to escape the Revolution, Didelot brought his invention to England where it was enthusiastically received. But wires were impractical, they got in the way of other dance movements, so choreographers began looking for other ways to enable performers to rise up 'en pointe'. The answer was a special kind of shoe, which bound the toes together and provided the extra support they needed to withstand the dancers body weight. At first these shoes provided sufficient support for the dancer to rise on her toes for only the breifest moment, but in the years that followed better shoes were developed and dancers learned how to strengthen their feet through practice so that pointe dancing became an essential element of any ballet's choreography. Marie Taglioni, in La Sylphide in 1832 is generally considered to have been the first ballerina to haved dance 'en pointe'.

The 19th century was notable as the Romantic period which was reflected in a change in ballet style and content. Instead of the classical stories from ancient mythology more popular were stories of romance often involving fairies and dreamlike worlds. In particular in this period, the role of women in ballet rose in prominence, equalling and then surpassing that of men. To express the new ideas women were made to appear like heavenly beings. The blocked shoe permitted ballerinas to develop the technique of dancing on their toes or 'en pointe' to make them appear to float across the stage and male dancers were employed increasingly in lifting the women so that they might appear to fly. The ballerina who is traditionally credited with being the first dancer to dance en pointe is the Italian Marie Taglioni (born 1804) who is known to have done so when she was eighteen years old.

Only in Russia and Denmark did the men retain at least equality with the women, due to ballet in those countries still being largely the province of the royal courts. Russia in fact became the leading world centre for ballet as its popularity in France began to decline. Many French dancers were brought to Moscow during the mid-19th century and a Frenchman, Marius Petipa, became the chief choreographer of the Imperial Russian Ballet. He perfected the full-length ballet combining mime and dance in a series of set peices to tell a story. His best-known works are The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake both of which are still frequently performed today.

Russia boasts the world's second oldest ballet academy, the St. Petersburg school which was established by the Russian Monarchy in 1738. Ballet continued to be sponsored by succesive Russian monarchs up until the last of the line was ousted by the Russian Revolution in 1917. Russian ballet under the Tsars had reverted to the old courtly style which emphasised grandeur and spectacle, but without any detriment to the skill of the performers. In fact Russian danseurs were became the the most highly regarded in the World, the greatest of them all being Anna Pavlova (1881-1931). Sergei Diaghilev formed the Ballet Russes company in 1909 which spread the splendour of Russian ballet with a series of appearances across Europe. Following the revolution, ballet was allowed to continue so long as it was light and uplifting, and of course shed the trappings of the old monarchy. Many dancers had fled Russia during the revolution however, and they had to be replaced with local folk dancers, leading to a dancing style which was more robust and energetic.

The arrival of the top quality Russian emigre danseurs in companies across Europe led to a resurgence in the popularity of ballet across the continent. But it was not long before Russia, and the New Ballet Russe, were challenging to win back their place of eminence in the art. In the 1930's a new breed of teenaged 'baby ballerinas' were performing feats of agility and balance that no others could match. To this day, Russian danseurs and ballet companies continue to enjoy a reputation of the very highest quality in the art.

The development of modern dance in the second quarter of the twentieth century impacted on ballet in imbuing it with a new sense of realism and extending its vocabulary of expressive movements. New works explored new concepts and developed their characters in more depth. One effect of this evolution that can be seen in modern works today is in the expressive use of the torso and in movements performed whilst lying or sitting on the floor.

Today's ballet companies offer a repertoire of great variety. The old classical favourites are frequently restaged alongside new modern works in which choreographers experiment in blending new and traditional styles. Modern transport systems allow ballet companies to travel more easily than ever before, allowing ballet companies to take their performances to an ever broader public, and allowing devotees of the ballet to sample the full spectrum of modern ballet activity.

The English Ballet

Although Britain had a rich history of dance, ballet as an art form was almost completely alien to the British Isles prior to the commencement of the twentieth century. The puritan influence in England which stifled any form of joyous expression arrested the development of dance in this country at the very time this new form was blossoming elsewhere. Prior to the close of the nineteenth century therefore, ballet in Great Britain was almost exclusively performed by a handful of foreign dance companies and foreign dancers visiting from abroad. Moreover, these foreign companies came and departed so fleetingly that they made little impression on the public at large, and were rarely seen at all outside of London.

The situation began to change around the beginning of the twentieth century with the long term arrival in England of some of the great continental dancers like Adeline Genee and Lydia Kyasht. They introduced the British public to the style and technique of ballet, although they did it by means of individual performances which could not in themselves be said to represent the art of ballet.

The history of modern ballet in England has often been said to have begun with the Russians, in particular Serge Diaghilev and Anna Pavlova. Diaghilev created the original Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909, with the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky and Anna Pavlova at its head, leading a corps de ballet of the finest Russian dancers. They created a sensation on the continent raising ballet from a diverting entertainment to a serious theatrical art, and when the company came to England for the first time in 1910 they left the English audiences astounded. Pavlova had by this time already split from Diaghelev and brought her own touring company to England with herself at the head. Her corps de ballet was initially based around Russian and Polish performers but, having established a permanent base in London, it was not long before she began to recruit young English dancers and found them to be excellent material. In the space of a few years, Diaghilev and Pavlova were instrumental in popularising ballet to the British public. The result of this new found awareness was that many young girls throughout the country were inspired to consider dancing as a serious profession, so creating for the first time a pool of fresh British talent to be drawn upon in following years.

In 1931 a new ballet company was established which would eventually become our National Ballet. It was founded by Dame Ninette de Valois, dancer, choreographer and entrepreneur, and was initially known as the Vic-Wells Ballet since it performed at the Old Vic and Sadlers Wells Theatres. Ninette persuaded Lilian Baylis to provide the company with a permanent home at the Sadler's Wells Theatre and it became known as the Sadlers Wells Ballet. In the years that followed it established such a reputation for excellence both at home and on the continent that on its 25th Anniversary, in 1956, the name The Royal Ballet was granted by Royal Charter.

The Royal Ballet remains this country's premier company, based in Covent Garden. Unfortunately they do not undertake National tours and prices to see them in London are prohibitive. Fortunately there are other companies which make themselves much more accessible. The English National Ballet (originally formed in 1950 as The Festival Ballet) is also based in London but tours extensively, as do the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Northern Ballet Theatre (based in Leeds). Whilst these latter companies have fewer dancers and cannot match the sheer scale of The Royal Ballet's productions they lack nothing in quality and fulfill a very real need of making ballet accessible to all.