Who Started Ballet?

Ballet

The origin of ballet dates back to the Renaissance period of the 15th century in Italy. It is an art form that combines dance and music, and is focused on expressing emotion through movement. Although its roots may be traced back to Italy, it was in the 17th century France that ballet first emerged as a fully developed art form.

At the beginning of the 17th century, King Louis XIV of France had a deep interest in dance, which led him to create a professional ballet academy – the Académie Royale de Danse – in 1661. This institution was responsible for setting standards for technique and codifying many moves that are still used today. It also encouraged professional dancers to join companies that performed regularly at court.

The first professional company, named Les Ballets de Cour, was created by Louis XIV’s finance minister Jean-Baptiste Lully and Pierre Beauchamp in 1661. This troupe included both male and female dancers and performed at court events for the king. The style of ballet they developed was known as ‘court dance’ or ‘ballet de cour’, and was characterized by ornate costumes and extravagant sets.

The development of ballet during this period was largely due to Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810). He is considered one of the most influential choreographers ever, as he revolutionized ballet with his new ideas about telling stories through dance movements.

He believed that dancers should be able to express emotions through their movements and use them to portray characters in stories. This idea laid the foundations for modern classical ballet technique.

In conclusion, it can be said that although there is some debate over who officially started ballet as an art form, King Louis XIV’s patronage of dance set off its development in France during the 17th century – leading to its modern form today. The work of Jean-Georges Noverre then took it further by introducing new ideas such as storytelling through movement that laid the foundations for modern classical ballet technique.

Conclusion:

It can be concluded that King Louis XIV is credited with establishing Ballet as an art form during his reign in France during the 17th century; however, Jean-Georges Noverre’s revolutionary ideas about storytelling through movement helped shape modern classical Ballet technique.