Ballet is a classic form of dance that began about 400 years ago in Italy. It became popular in France in the 17th century, which is why so many ballet steps have French names. The dancers are trained athletes who move with skill and precision in a very graceful way. They perform specially composed movements, known as choreography, to tell a story or show feelings and moods, with a musical accompaniment.

Learning ballet

There are five basic positions for the feet and the arms. Dancers are taught turn-out—turning the legs outwards, away from the hips—to make them look elegant and allow more movement of the legs. They practise their steps in a room with large mirrors, to check what they are doing, and a sprung floor that reduces the risk of injuries. They hold on to a railing called the barre while they warm up and do practice exercises. More advanced dancers learn jumps and turns. They are taught to dance en pointe, wearing special blocked shoes that allow them to dance on the very tips of their toes.

Putting on a show

Ballet is the name both for the dance technique and for the show. A full ballet will have a group, called a troupe, of dancers in costume, with music and stage props. The movements are put together by a choreographer (which means "dance writer") who writes down the steps using choreology, which records each dancer’s position on a five-line stave, like a musical score. The best dancers in a ballet company are called the principals; they dance the leading roles. A female principal is called the prima ballerina. The second tier of dancers, the soloists, often dance alone on stage. The junior dancers perform as a group and are called the corps de ballet.

Origins

Ballet began in the Italian courts as entertainment for the very rich. When Catherine de' Medici, an Italian aristocrat, married the future French king, Henry II, in 1533, she brought her enthusiasm for dance to the French court. Ballets de cour, as it was known, became popular, especially when King Louis XIV, a talented dancer himself, founded the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Dance Academy) in 1661. Female dancers were not allowed, so males danced all of the parts. At that time, the ballets were just a selection of dances. Louis asked composers, such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, to write music especially for his dances. His dancemaster, Pierre Beauchamp, planned moves to match the music: he was the first choreographer of ballet. He defined the five basic positions that ballerinas still learn today.

Romantic ballet

By the 18th century, ballet had become a dramatic art form, and began to be included during operas. In the 19th century, as part of the Romantic movement, ballet developed its own style of mimed "language" that revealed to the audience what the dancers were doing or feeling. One of the first Romantic ballets was performed in 1832 in Paris. It was called La Sylphide and was written especially for the female lead, Marie Taglioni. She was one of the first dancers to dance en pointe. Ballerinas would be lifted almost effortlessly, as if they were floating, which was perfect for the fantasy characters of Romantic ballets.

Classical ballet

Over time, ballets became longer with more complicated storylines and dance steps that showed off the dancers’ skills. They were extremely popular in Russia, where the composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840–93) wrote musical scores that captivated the audience. He wrote Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, three ballets that are still popular today.

Ballets Russes

A Russian company transformed ballet at the start of the 20th century. The Ballets Russes, founded by Sergei Diaghilev (1872–1929), brought together some of the best Russian ballet dancers in short, single-act ballets that shocked audiences with their exotic settings and daring choreography. Composers were asked for striking new music to accompany the ballets. They included Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), who wrote The Firebird and The Rite of Spring for Diaghilev’s company. The ballets showed off the male lead as much as the prima ballerina. Vaslav Nijinsky (1890–1950) was one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time.

Ballet steps

The French for "step" is pas, so a dance for two people is known as a pas de deux. The pas de chat (step of the cat) is a sideways jump where the dancer bends both legs in mid-air, as seen in, for example the Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake. Other steps include the pas de basque (step of the Basques), pas de cheval (step of the horse), pas de poisson (step of the fish) and pas de valse (waltz step).