"When I miss class for one day, I know it. When I miss class for two days, my teacher knows it. When I miss class for three days, the audience knows it." -Rudolph Nureyev
Introduction
Part of dance education is dance history. It is important to know the major developments of ballet, because it can help you understanding not only how it developed but also why it developed the way that it did. This will be the first post in a series on ballet history-don't worry, they won't all be back-to-back. I will do my best to go in chronological order to make it easy to follow.
Origins of Ballet
Most people erroneously believe that classical ballet originated in France. While many important developments of ballet did happen there, it really started in Italy, specifically in the Florentine courts. During the early Renaissance, Italy boasted some of the most lavish and extravagant courts in Europe, which included fancy balls and feasts. The focal point of these balls was court dancing, which is the true "skeleton" technique of present-day ballet. The nobility would hire dance masters to teach them all of the different, standard court dances. These dance masters not only choreographed the dances, but they also travelled extensively to teach the choreography to almost all of the European courts, especially those in France, Spain, and England. Because the dances were standardized and taught by the same people, courtesans from one court could visit another court, and were easily able to partake in dancing. For this reason, the development of standardized court dancing became an important political tool that facilitated business and politics between different countries.
As court dancing grew in popularity, the dances evolved into actual performances. These were generally extremely elaborate and involved many art forms other than dance, such as poetry reading and music. The dancers wore expensive costumes (and sometimes masks) to distinguish characters, usually based on characters from Greek mythology. These shows often lasted many hours, and the king and queen would often participate while the rest of the court feasted. Generally, the performances were organized for major holidays, when special guests came to court, and to celebrate weddings and noble births.
As court dancing grew in popularity, the dances evolved into actual performances. These were generally extremely elaborate and involved many art forms other than dance, such as poetry reading and music. The dancers wore expensive costumes (and sometimes masks) to distinguish characters, usually based on characters from Greek mythology. These shows often lasted many hours, and the king and queen would often participate while the rest of the court feasted. Generally, the performances were organized for major holidays, when special guests came to court, and to celebrate weddings and noble births.
Notable People
Early 1400s: Domenico da Piacenza is considered the first true dance master. His students, Antonio Cornazzano and Guglielmo Ebreo, travelled with him to help teach dances and to choreograph new dances. Together, these three men wrote and published one of the earliest dance publications in Europe, called "De arte saltandi et choreus ducendi" (On the Art of Dancing and Leading Dances).
Mid-Late 1400s: Bergonzio di Botta, another Italiain dance master, choreographed the first true "ballet" performance to celebrate the marriage of Galeazzo, the Duke of Milan, with Isabella of Aragon. After this performance, many other courts followed suit and began to create ballets to celebrate all kinds of important court events.
Mid 1500s: Catherine de Medici moved from Italy to France when she married Henri II She was an avid lover of dance, and invested significant resources in the art form and increased the popularity of dancing considerably. It was under her supervision that the first major ballets came about, including "Ballet de Polonais," which celebrated the visit of a Polish ambassador to France. It was choreographed by Balthasar Beaujoyeulx, who also choreographed "Ballet Comique de la Reine," another marriage-celebrating show. The growing popularity of dance performance sparked the need for a real dance technique to develop. This early technique was published in the pamphlet "Il Ballarino" (The Dancer) by Fabritio Caroso. Note that this pamphlet focused only on male technique, despite the fact that women generally made up most of the dancers in these performances.
Mid-Late 1400s: Bergonzio di Botta, another Italiain dance master, choreographed the first true "ballet" performance to celebrate the marriage of Galeazzo, the Duke of Milan, with Isabella of Aragon. After this performance, many other courts followed suit and began to create ballets to celebrate all kinds of important court events.
Mid 1500s: Catherine de Medici moved from Italy to France when she married Henri II She was an avid lover of dance, and invested significant resources in the art form and increased the popularity of dancing considerably. It was under her supervision that the first major ballets came about, including "Ballet de Polonais," which celebrated the visit of a Polish ambassador to France. It was choreographed by Balthasar Beaujoyeulx, who also choreographed "Ballet Comique de la Reine," another marriage-celebrating show. The growing popularity of dance performance sparked the need for a real dance technique to develop. This early technique was published in the pamphlet "Il Ballarino" (The Dancer) by Fabritio Caroso. Note that this pamphlet focused only on male technique, despite the fact that women generally made up most of the dancers in these performances.
Important Ballets
"Ballet de Polonais" (1573, by Balthasar Beaujoyeulx) was performed in the French court in honor of the arrival of a Polish ambassador, who came to offer Catherine di Medici's son the Polish throne. This ballet marked the real divergence between court dancing and a true performance because it was done on a stage, as opposed to simply on the ballroom floor.
"Ballet Comique de la Reine" (1581, by Balthasar beaujoyelux) celebrated the marriage of the Duke of Joyeuse and Marguerite de Lorraine, Queen Louise of Lorraine's sister. The ballet lasted approximately five hours and involved 24 performers, 12 males and 12 females. This was the first real "story ballet," which used dance, poetry, and music to tell the story of Circe from Greco-Roman mythology.
"Ballet Comique de la Reine" (1581, by Balthasar beaujoyelux) celebrated the marriage of the Duke of Joyeuse and Marguerite de Lorraine, Queen Louise of Lorraine's sister. The ballet lasted approximately five hours and involved 24 performers, 12 males and 12 females. This was the first real "story ballet," which used dance, poetry, and music to tell the story of Circe from Greco-Roman mythology.