FIRST BALLET SCHOOL

In 1661, King Louis XIV established the world's first ballet school, the Academie
Royale de Danse (Royal Academy of Dance). Pierre Beauchamps, a Ballet Master at
the school, is credited with developing the five basic foot positions of ballet.
THE PRE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Pre-Romantic Era

As ballet entered the nineteenth century it entered a transitional phase, the pre-romantic phase.
During the pre-romantic era male dancers reached their peak. One of Vigan's students, Carlo
Blasis, (1797-1878), taught the next generation of dancers to advance well beyond the previous
generation, and he published his work in manuals in Italy, then in England describing the finer
points of ballet. For example, he named the attitude.
It was during the pre-romantic era that ballerinas first started dancing on the very tips of their
toes, or en pointe. The earliest record of ladies dancing en pointe is a lithograph of Fanny Bias en
pointe in 1821, and it is possible that Genevive Gosselin was en pointe in 1815. However, the
lady who is traditionally credited with being the first dancer to dance en pointe is the Italian
Marie Taglioni, (1804-1884), and we know that she was en pointe when she was eighteen years
old.
In 1832 Marie Taglioni's father choreographed a ballet for her to perform. This was La Sylphide,
one of the first major ballets that is still performed today. In La Sylphide Taglioni wore a bell
shaped dress with a fitted and boned bodice. This became the platform on which the Romantic
tutu was built fifty years later.
Romantic Era

The Romantic age more or less began with the staging of Giselle, ou Les Wilis at the Paris Opera
in 1841, with music composed by Adolphe Adam, who worked closely with the ballet masters,
Coralli and Jules Perrot, (1810-1892). The role of Giselle was played by a new ballerina from
Italy, Carlotta Grisi, (1819-1899).
With the reasonably new skill of dancing en pointe improving, the ladies ruled the Romantic era,
with very few men making a mark on ballet during this time. Some of the men who did make a
mark were Jules Perrot, who choreographed the ballet Pas de Quatre, Arthur Saint Lon, (18211870), who not only was an excellent dancer but also was an excellent violinist, and Lucien
Petipa, (1815-1898), whose skills as a virtuoso partner were well sought after.
In Russia and Denmark, however, men advanced alongside women, as the ballet in those
countries was still supported by the court of the royalty. The Dane who made one of the biggest

marks on ballet was Auguste Bournonville. After training in Denmark and Paris, then dancing
with the ballet of the Paris Opera, Bournonville returned to Denmark. Once there he produced
his own version of La Sylphide in 1836, with new choreography and new music and sixteen year
old Lucille Grahn as the sylph.
During the Romantic era, the Russians got on the "ballet bandwagon" in a big way. And like the
French had centuries before they imported much of the talent. The Russians, however, imported
dancers from France, not Italy. Sometimes homegrown Russian stars also performed for the
audiences in St. Petersburg. One of the more notable female dancers was Maria Danilov, who
performed very well on pointe, is remembered as "Russia's Taglioni," and died at the age of
seventeen in 1810. Giselle was first performed in Russia one year after its premiere in Paris with
Elena Andreyanova, (1819-1857), as Giselle. She danced opposite Christian Johnasson, (18171903), and Marius Petipa, (Lucien's Brother), two of the largest figures in Russian ballet.
Petipa and the Russian Ballet

Marius Petipa was still a leading dancer with the St. Petersburg ballet in 1862 when he created
his first multi-act ballet for the tsar's imperial theatre, The Pharoh's Daughter, an incredible
fantasy that included such Egyptian happenings as mummies awakening and poisonous snakes,
much like an Indiana Jones movie. This ballet led to other ballets and eventually to what the
world considers Classical Ballet.
In 1869 Petipa took over the position of Ballet Master in Chief to the Imperial Tsar. In his role of
leadership Petipa created many multi- and single-act ballets for presentation on the imperial
stages of Russia. In 1869 he went to Moscow and created Don Quixote for the ballet of the
Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Then in 1877 he created La Bayadre for the Bolshoi Theatre in St.
Petersburg, (There was a Bolshoi in both Moscow and in St. Petersburg - the word Bolshoi
meaning "big").
In earlier years Petipa had choreographed the dances of les wilis in the second act of Giselle
while acting as an assistant to Perrot and this form of female corps dancing representing shadows
or spirits became known as ballet blanc and is common to Giselle, La Bayadre, and many other
ballets.
Also in 1877 a ballet so popular its name and image represents classical ballet premiered in
Moscow. Swan Lake, set to Tchaikovsky's first ballet score was the first of the "Big Three" of
Russian Ballet. Originally set by Austrian Wenzel Reisinger, (1827-1892), Swan Lake has been
reworked by many people including Joseph Hansen, (1842-1907), and then again by Petipa in
1895.

Ballet in Britain

Since Weaver's productions in the early eighteenth century, England was a place where foreign
ballet dancers performed, not a place where ballet was developed, until 1920 when douard
Espinosa, (1871-1950), and Philip Richardson founded the Association of Operatic Dancing,
(which became known as the Royal Academy of Dancing in 1936). And in 1922 a group of
followers of Enrico Cecchetti, called the Cecchetti Society appeared in England; this is the group
responsible for the creation of the current Cecchetti dance syllabus.
In 1926 Ninette de Valois, (1898- ) opened the Academy of Choreographic Art, which eventually
became the Royal Ballet. It was at this time that Frederick Ashton surfaced as the "most English
of English" choreographers. His first ballet, Tragedy of Fashion, or The Scarlet Scissors appeared
in 1926. It was Ashton who first staged Cinderella outside of the Iron Curtain. Starting in 1934
ballets such as Giselle, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty appeared in
Britain, although they started off quite differently than they looked in St. Petersburg, Moscow, or
Paris. Another very influential British ballet figure is Margot Fonteyn. Where Ashton made his
mark as a choreographer, Fonteyn made hers as a dancer and became the focus of world attention
for almost thirty years. A world-renowned dancer she was recognized by H.R.H. Queen
Elizabeth II with the title Dame Margot Fonteyn. Her name is still recognized even by those
outside of the dance world. In 1956, H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth II gave de Valois's ballet school
and companies the title "Royal" and they became the Royal Ballet of England.
The Russian Revolution and Nureyev

In 1961, just as Fonteyn was about to retire, the world spotlight moved to the Russian Rudolf
Nureyev, (1938-1993). After starting late at the ballet academy in Leningrad, Nureyev made
Soviet cultural news for his "impassioned and powerful dancing" and was also noted by the
security police as paying far too much attention to the west.
After the Russian Revolution ballet was saved by Anatoli Lunacharsky, the first ever People's
Commissar for Enlightenment when he stated that art "creates human types and situations, which
we live on from century to century and which are real to millions of people." After Lunacharsky,
the Commissars allowed ballet as long as it was light and uplifting.
During the 1930s in Leningrad a ballerina made artistic director of the former Imperial Ballet,
Agrippina Vaganova, (1879-1951), started to make her mark. It was in 1935 that the ballet
became the Kirov Ballet. During her time as artistic director Vaganova had to deal with state
regulations and do such things as change the ending of Swan Lake from tragic to uplifting. By
the time the Kirov Ballet began to tour the west, Vaganova had died, however, we know her
methods through her book, Fundementals of the Classic Dance, and once it was translated into
English it became a "bible" of dance. In 1951, five years after her death, the Soviet government
named the Leningrad Choreographic Institute after her.

After Nureyev graduated from the Kirov academy he danced with the Kirov ballet, and made
news around the world as the "next Nijinsky." However, when the Kirov began to organize a
Paris and London tour, his offstage disregard for Soviet ideals almost kept him from going on the
tour. Then, when he was the government recalled him to the Soviet Union in the middle of the
tour, he instead sought political asylum in France.
After defecting, Nureyev danced with Margot Fonteyn as a partner with many companies around
the world, including the National Ballet of Canada and the Australian Ballet, becoming known
with Fonteyn as "Rudi and Margot." Unfortunately for Nureyev, his hoped for association with
Balanchine never materialized.
America

Thanks to Balanchine, ballet came to America. However, very little of America realized this, the
popular misconception was that ballet came from Russia. To counter this Lincoln Kirstein
published an essay called "Blast at Ballet" in which he tried to correct this misconception. While
Kirstein and Balanchine were trying to come up with a stable ballet company, while still running
their school, there were other companies in the works.
Richard Pleasant, (1906-1961), a ballet company manager, teamed up with Lucia Chase, (18971986), to form the Ballet Theatre. This company is still running today as one of the most
prestigious companies on the continent, the American Ballet Theatre. Antony Tudor, an English
dancer and choreographer came over and started working with the Ballet Theatre. Probably the
most famous piece he choreographed was Fancy Free, about sailors in New York City.
Balanchine also restaged several pieces for the Ballet Theatre.
In 1946 Balanchine and Kirstein formed the Ballet Society. Because the costumes for the premier
performance were very constricting, they were discarded and the dancers danced in what could
be called rehearsal costumes. This look became common in Balanchine's ballets and allowed for
the audience to see the full dance. The Ballet Society caught the attention of the director of New
York City's City Centre Theatre who invited the Ballet Society to work alongside the New York
City Opera in the Theatre. This was the beginning of the New York City Ballet. With ballerina
Maria Tallchief, (1925- ), and Jerome Robbins, who both came from the Ballet Theatre, the New
York City Ballet, (NYCB), got underway with productions of Firebird, (1949), and Swan Lake,
(1951). At this time the Ballet Theatre, (BT), was on shaky organizational ground and several of
its dancers and Tudor came from the BT and signed with the NYCB.
When the BT, (known since 1956 as the American Ballet Theatre or ABT), became more stable
again Tudor and some of the dancers returned to it, but some remained with the NYCB. From
here the two companies went their different ways. The NYCB presented entirely new pieces or
reconditioned old ones, where the ABT presented a balance of classics and contemporary ballets.

The ABT also counted on big names like Eric Bruhn, (1928-1986), and Rudolf Nureyev to bring
in audiences.
It should also be mentioned that George Balanchine is responsible for the "Balanchine body"
image of ballet dancers as extremely slim. This image has led to many eating disorders in
ballerinas and ballerina hopefuls. Balanchine's historical contribution to ballet in America was
enormous, as was his influence, which continues. At this point we can leave "history" and go into
the present with ballet firmly established in Europe and the Americas and starting to make great
leaps and bounds in the rest of the world.

The Russian Classical Ballet Company is one of the most prestigious Ballet
companies in Russia today. The company was founded in the late 1990s featuring dancers from
other famous Ballet companies in Russia, such as Bolshoi Ballet, Ballet Theatres from Ukraine,
Moldova and other CIS countries.
The Russian Classical Ballet is based in Moscow, where it has its own workshop making their
stunning costumes and beautiful backdrops, plus providing stunning costumes, etc. for other
Ballet companies.
The Russian Classical Ballet has thrilled ballet lovers all over the world, with successful tours in
Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and China.
They can perform with a Full Live Orchestra, or alternatively with their Orchestras recorded
music on CD.
Contemporary dance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A dancer performing a contemporary dance piece

Contemporary dance is a dance performance genre that developed during the mid twentieth
century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers
throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in the U.S. and Europe. Although
originally informed by and borrowing from classical, modern, and jazz styles, it has since come
to incorporate elements from many styles of dance.[1] Due to its technical similarities, it is often
perceived to be closely related to modern dance, ballet and other classical concert dance styles.
In terms of the focus of its technique, contemporary dance tends to utilize both the strong and
controlled legwork of ballet and modern dance's stress on the torso, and also employs contract-

release, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation characteristic of modern dance.[2]
Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction are often used, as well. It sometimes also
incorporates elements of non-western dance cultures such as elements from African dance
including bent knees, or movements from the Japanese contemporary dance Butoh.[3][4]