Ballet History the First “Ballet Performances” Were Spectacular Programs Given in the Courts of ______(Country)

Name: ______Date: ______Period: ______

Ballet History The first “ballet performances” were spectacular programs given in the courts of ______(country). These shows, which combined painting, poetry, music, and dancing, were performed in ______(venue). The first “ballet” was commissioned by ______. It was called ______(title) and was performed in Paris in the year ______.

Because the dancers were originally in a hall with the royal family on a dais at one end and spectators in galleries on the other three sides, much of the audience saw the ballet from above. The dancers therefore created elaborate ______. Then, the theater stage known as the ______was adopted in France in the mid-1600s, allowing ______made their first appearance, although they were not permitted to dance in the grand ballet that concluded the performance.

The court ballet reached its peak during the reign of Louis XIV, the “______” (nickname). Louis XIV established the ______(school), which later developed the ballet company ______. The academy hosted dancing masters including French choreographer ______who is said to have defined the ______(of ballet technique).

Eighteenth-century dancers wore ______. Women wore ______. Men wore ______. French dancer Marie ______, however, ______her skirts and adopted ______to display her jumps and beats.

Toe dancing began to develop although the dancers balanced on their toes ______. Blocked toe shoes were invented later. To make dancing easier, dancers strengthened their slippers by ______. ______danced the part of the first Romantic ballet La Sylphide , and was one of the first to apply the use of toe dancing to emphasize her otherworldly lightness.

Male dancers were famed for ______(ballet skills). Women were the first to do double ______& performed quick ______. Called the Shakespeare of ballet, ______influenced ballet choreography with his “Pas d’action” – steps telling a story.

After 300 years, ballet in ______declined, and persevered in ______during the late 19 th century. A Frenchman, ______, became the chief choreographer of the Imperial Russian Ballet. He perfected the full-length, evening-long story ballet that combined set dances with mimed scenes. His best- known works are ______, set to music by Tchaikovsky. ______founded the first independent ballet company, “Ballet Russe”. As choreographer for Ballet Russe, ______focused on hand and arm movement, especially in his choreography The Dying Swan which was where ballerina ______found her fame as the swan.

Russian dancer ______was invited to work in the United States at the School of American Ballet with Lincoln Kierstein. Two great American ballet companies were founded in New York City in the 1940s, ______and the ______.

Beginning in 1956, Russian ballet companies such as the ______and ______performed in the West for the first time. Russian influence on ballet continues today, both through visits from Russian companies and Soviet dancers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov who ______from Russia.

Dance in general underwent an enormous upsurge in popularity beginning in the mid-1960s. The ______of dancing was enjoyed in much the same way as sports, and difficult steps were admired for their challenge and daring. Popular music such as ______and ______was used to accompany many ballets.

Today's ballet includes ______ballets and ______of older ballets. New works were created by ______dance choreographers for ballet companies. Choreographers experiment with both new and traditional forms and styles, and dancers constantly seek to extend their technical and dramatic range. The frequent tours of ballet companies allow audiences throughout the world to experience the full spectrum of today's ballet activity.

1581 heelless slippers Paris Opéra Ballet 5 feet positions hoopskirts Pierre Beauchamp Academie Royale de Danse Jazz pirouettes American Ballet Theatre Jean Georges Noverre professional dancers Anna Pavlova jumps and leaps proscenium theater athleticism Kirov Ballet reconstructions Banquet Halls La Ballet Comique de la Reine Renaissance Italy Bolshoi Ballet Marie Taglioni Rock and Roll Camargo Marius Petipa Russia Catherine de Medici Michel Fokine Sergei Diaghilev darning Modern shortened defected new Sun King floor patterns New York City Ballet Swan Lake & Sleeping Beauty footwork only a few moments tonnelets George Balanchine Paris Wigs & Heeled Shoes