Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology. It is traditionally performed with music and has been influential globally over the last few centuries.
The origins of ballet can be traced back to the Italian Renaissance court of the 15th century, where aristocrats performed stylized dances at lavish parties. This style of dance was known as “ballo”, which means “dance” in Italian.
This evolved into “ballet”, which was later adopted by French noblemen. In France, dancers started to incorporate more elaborate costumes, set pieces, and more complex choreography.
The first ballet that is widely recognized today is Le Ballet Comique de la Reine. This ballet was performed in 1581 at the royal court for Catherine de’ Medici in Paris.
The performance was created by Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx and featured a full-length narrative story told through song and dance. It also included special effects, such as fireworks, and mechanical devices.
In Russia during the 17th century, Tsar Peter I created an imperial theater where he invited French dancers to perform. These French dancers introduced their own style of ballet that mixed elements from their homeland with Russian folk styles. During this time period, famous ballets such as The Sleeping Beauty were created by composers such as Tchaikovsky.
Today’s modern ballet is often credited to Marius Petipa who worked in Russia during the 19th century. Petipa created a new school of technique for classical ballet that incorporated both Russian and French styles.
He combined elements from each culture to create grandiose ballets such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty. These ballets continue to be popular today.
In conclusion, while it’s difficult to pinpoint who first invented ballet due to its complicated history involving different cultures over several centuries, it is widely accepted that Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx created the first modern full-length narrative story ballet called Le Ballet Comique de la Reine in 1581 at the royal court for Catherine de’ Medici in Paris.