Ballet - the epitome of elegance

Lionel Wijesiri

GRACEFUL DANCE: Dancing as a spectacle has its origins in remote history, being known in different forms in almost all the ancient classical civilizations. Thus, it is often difficult to pinpoint just when a particular form arose.

In the case of the ballet however, it is generally regarded that its roots were in the Ducal courts of

 Renaissance Italy. It was commonplace at that time for the various Dukes and Princes to compete with each other in providing the most lavish entertainments. These generally included dancing at the forefront. These dance routines were called balli or balletti, the origin of the modern term.

French Influence

When King Louis XII of France invaded the Italian peninsula in 1499, taking Milan (and, briefly, Naples) the French were much impressed by the splendours of the Italian courts.

Whilst dancing had long been popular as a courtly pastime in France, it was generally loosely organised relying more on elaborate costumes and scenery rather than quality of performance. It was not until the arrival of some of the Italian dancing masters that it began to take on a set form. When Catherine De Medici of Florence became Queen of France in 1547 following her husband's accession to the throne (as Henry II) she did much to further this development.

She brought over from Italy a talented musician named Balthazar de Beaujoyleux to be her chief musician and Master of Ceremonies. Beaujoyleux could be considered to be the father of modern ballet as it was one of his productions that is generally considered to have been the first true ballet.

This was a magnificent undertaking staged in the great hall of the Palais du Petit-Bourbon in 1581, arranged in honour of the wedding of Marguerite of Lorraine, sister-in-law of Henry III. Titled the 'Balet Comique de la Royne,' it lasted six hours. Remarkably, detailed written records including a number of pictorial engravings still exist and therefore a great deal is known of the content of this production.

Whilst still looking to Italy for innovation and inspiration, ballet became an integral part of French courtly activities for the next 100 years and when other European countries adopted the form, it was generally from

 Paris and Versailles that they took their lead. To this day, the official language of ballet, on which all ballet terms are based, is still French.

Court ballet in France reached its peak during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715). Indeed his common epithet of "the Sun King" was based on a role he danced in a ballet. In 1661 Louis established the world's first ballet school, the Acad‚mie Royale de Danse housed in a room in the Louvre in Paris.

Its artists developed the foot positions and basic techniques of classical ballet. Up to this time all dancers were male, and many of the basic movements were reminiscent of moves from fencing and sword practice from which they were probably derived.

Professional dancers

With the creation of the Acad‚mie, many professional dancers were born... With intensive training, the professionals were able to develop skills far beyond those of the amateurs. Moreover, it was not long before the male monopoly was broken. By the end of the 17th century increasing numbers of female professional dancers had already begun to appear. Marie Camargo and Marie Salle were two of them. Both of them were instrumental in reforming ballet costume to permit further advances in style and technique.

The professional dancers had at first retained the elaborate costumes of the courtiers, encumbered with masks, wigs or large headdresses, heeled shoes and heavy vestments.

Women wore panniers and long skirts. Camargo shortened her skirts and wore heelless slippers to give her greater freedom of movement and Salle once discarded her heavy costume in favour of a simple lightweight

 muslin dress.

As the era of the court ballet began to wane, the professional dancers had to increasingly look to the theatres for employment, bringing ballet to a much wider audience.

French choreographer Jean Noverre was instrumental in reforming ballet and developing a more naturalistic style where dancers used their faces and bodies to convey emotions and develop the story. By the latter part of the 18th century the cumbersome costumes and heeled shoes had completely disappeared allowing dancers much more freedom of movement.

The 19th century was notable as the Romantic Period, which was reflected in a change in ballet style and content. Instead of the classical stories from ancient mythology more popular were stories of romance often involving fairies and dreamlike worlds.

In particular in this period, the role of women in ballet rose in prominence, equalling and then surpassing that of men. To express the new ideas women were made to appear like heavenly beings.

The blocked shoe permitted ballerinas to develop the technique of dancing on their toes or 'en pointe' to make them appear to float across the stage and male dancers were employed increasingly in lifting the women so that they might appear to fly.

Russian Influence

Any discussion on ballet is not complete without a mention of Russia. Russia in fact became the leading world centre for ballet as its popularity in France began to decline.

Many French dancers were brought to Moscow during the mid-19th century and a Frenchman, Marius Petipa,

 became the chief choreographer of the Imperial Russian Ballet. He perfected the full-length ballet combining mime and dance in a series of set pieces to tell a story. His best-known works are The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake both of which are still frequently performed today.

Ballet continued to be sponsored by successive Russian monarchs up until the last of the line was ousted by the Russian Revolution in 1917. Russian ballet under the Tsars had reverted to the old courtly style which emphasiSed grandeur and spectacle, but without any detriment to the skill of the performers. In fact Russian dancers were to become the most highly regarded in the World, the greatest of them all being Anna Pavlova (1881-1931).

Sergei Diaghilev formed the Ballet Russes Company in 1909, which spread the splendour of Russian ballet with a series of appearances across Europe. Following the revolution, ballet was allowed to continue so long as it was light and uplifting, and of course shed the trappings of the old monarchy.

However, many dancers had fled Russia during the revolution and they had to be replaced with local folk dancers, leading to a dancing style, which was more robust and energetic.

The arrival of the top quality Russian ‚migr‚ danseurs across Europe led to a resurgence in the popularity of ballet across the continent. But before long Russia with the New Ballet Russe, was challenging to win back their place of eminence in the art.

In the 1930s a new breed of teenaged 'baby ballerinas' were performing feats of agility and balance that no others could match. To this day, Russian danseurs and ballet companies continue to enjoy a reputation of the very highest quality in the art.

The development of modern ballet in the second quarter of the twentieth century had an impact with a new

 sense of realism and extending its vocabulary of expressive movements. New productions explored new concepts and developed their characters in more depth. One effect of this evolution that can be seen in modern ballet today is in the expressive use of the torso and in movements performed whilst lying or sitting on the floor.

Today's ballet companies offer a repertoire of great variety. The old classical favourites are frequently restaged alongside new modern works in which choreographers experiment in blending new and traditional styles.

Modern transport systems allow ballet companies to travel more easily than ever before, allowing them to take their performances to an ever-broader public, and allowing the devotees to sample the full spectrum of modern ballet activity.

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