Classical Ballet
by Jennifer Grove
Classical ballet is a generally structured dance. It is a system of dance based on formalized movements and positions of the arms, feet, and body designed to enable the dancer to move with the greatest possible agility, control, speed, lightness and grace (Britannica). Classical ballet can be romantic, realistic or mythological. It was the first form of ballet that came about in the early seventeenth century, when dancers performed to entertain audiences between scenes of an opera. These short dances grew in popularity and importance until they became a form of theatre in their own right.
King Louis XIV founded Academie Royale de Musique et de Danse, the first ballet dance school, to make Paris the center of academic ballet. Ballet has been mixed with many styles of dance, such as Italian, to make Russia the international center of dance today. Academies were formed to pass on the fundamentals and traditions or classical dance. During a dance’s training, they learn a language to help communicate with other dancers. The reason for this is because this form of “language” was not active during the early years during ballet; many works have been lost while being passed from dancer to dancer like oral traditions (artsedge).
It is important that the audience has an understanding of the basic story line to fully understand the complex combination of movement, music, and storytelling that makes up the performance. A classical production is divided into three sections: the opening (dance for two), individual performances (male then female), and then the final. Classical ballet is the most formal form of all forms of ballet. Although this was not always the case. Like many other dances, at first all the dancers were men playing women roles. The first female dancers performed in 1681 in a ballet called Le Triomphe de l’Amour (css). Some of the most famous classical ballets are The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.
Ballet was my choice for this project for many reasons. Ballet is such a peaceful dance. Not only does it relax the mind while watching it, but it also is the dance of peace. I chose classical ballet because I did not know very much about the root of this form of dance. So in my research, I went all the way back to the very beginning roots of ballet. It is amazing to me that one type of dance has lasted through so many renaissances, in so many countries, over so many years that are still very popular today. Ballet was risqué at first, when Marie Camargo threw out the ballroom gown, wig, and corset and traded it for the short tutu and the flowing of her hair. Ballet has went from being just royalty, with Louis XIV, to being middle class with the royal class watching, to today where anyone participates and watches the dance. Dance is something your body and mind inspirers you to do, ballet is the most formal and hard work of any dance. As Ballet has evolved over the years, classical ballet still has its part in every form performed.
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