The impact of the French Revolution on Ballet

Classical Ballet is the epitome of class and sophistication, it is known for its meticulous techniques

During the Romantic era of the 19th century, creativity within the arts was flourishing and as a result, ballet developed many of its defining characteristics that many recognize it by today. After the French Revolution which ended at the close of the 18th century, the people of France were divided and aristocracy fell, and this led to a decline of monarchy around world. As a result, ballet became an art form that no longer represented the absolute monarchy. Furthermore, ballets told stories and portrayed emotions that were relatable to the audience, while still allowing the viewers to escape into these dream-like performances. These carefully choreographed ballets were well thought out and rehearsed countless times before the actual performance. It was during this time that ballet became a combination of refined technique and emotional storytelling. Female ballerinas quickly dominated the ballet world, and inventions including pointe

Romantic ballet in the 19th century differs from Classical ballet in the 20th century structurally, technically, and socially. The two dance forms also use different types of costumes and different narrative strategies. Romanticism greatly impacted the world of art in the 19th century. Romantic ballet emerged and allowed an escape for the dancers and audience from the distress due to the falling of the French Revolution. The following century brought a deeper understanding of Classical ballet via the Ballet Russes. The Ballet Russes allowed a freer expression and an overall appreciation of dance alongside other art forms. However, with all of those differences, they both use ballet technique for expression and

Influential philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, stated that “the human body is the best picture of the human soul.” A great example of the human body portraying the soul is through the art of ballet. From the Cambridge Dictionary Online, ballet can be defined as “a type of dancing in which controlled movements of the body are designed to express the beauty of physical motion, often while telling a story, or a piece of music for such dancing.” With ballet’s long history, it has shifted through various eras of time, including Ballet de Cour, Opera Ballet, Romanticism, Classical, Russian Imperialism, and the current modern era. All of which are characterized by particular ballets, prominent people, and various other theatrical elements. However, as the art of ballet evolved through the different eras, the emotions, messages, and nonverbal cues of each ballet changed to fit the societal norms and standards.

French Ballet began in the 17th century. It was a flamboyant entertainment presented in front of the aristocracy and royalty in the courts. French Ballet was also performed when they were celebrating marriages and showing off the wealth and power of the ruler. Besides, Ballet was called “la belle danse”, and it means “the beautiful dance.” In order to help the audience to recognize the characters in the story, dancers usually wore extravagant costumes. Moreover, the idea of different ballet movements was based on the social dance of royal courts, like beautiful arm and upper body movements and floor patterns were included. Also, in the beginning, only men were allowed to dance ballet, and women played the first ballet with parts until 1681.

This research is basic and qualitative. Its primary goal is to explore the evolution of ballet. No data had to be collected, and the research involved no experiment.

I respect your views about the ballet but surely teaching about it in the context of the Fokine reforms is not quite the same as having the experience of seeing it in the theatre with a cast who have been carefully selected and coached ? My experience of it in performance is that in the theatre the crowd scene really

Dance has been around since the earliest of human times. However, the formalization of dance came long after humans were dancing. As cultures became more developed, people could focus on other things such as rituals, dances, costumes, and entertainment (Hooper). This led to entertainment not only for the royalty and leaders of a society, but also entertainment for the commoner. Kassing notes that as the Renaissance arrived, performances in court became much more common as a form of entertainment to please the ruling class. Catherine de’ Medici is known for bringing ballet to France, where it became quite popular, according to Kassing’s report. The Paris Opera (originally the Académie Royale de Musique) was founded by Louis XIV and its ballet

Ballet is a classical dance style that expresses grace and precision incorporating the basic understanding and techniques of dance. This dance style is used throughout the world as entertainment and expressing emotions. Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance stage from the 15th century. In the 16th century, Catherine de Medici began to developed ballet has a dance form incorporating song, and costumes. This was known as ballet de cour or opera ballet. In the 1700s, a French ballet dancer named Jean Geogores Noverre wanted to create ballet as more dramatic narratives than opera ballet. By changing the idea of this dance style, this new idea was established as ballet is today. Today the same tradition and technique is used through performing,

Much like changes in costume, stage, and style are evidenced when reviewing the history of European ballet, thematic content changed too with the influence of the French revolution and the Romantic Era. During the Renaissance, ballet themes typically revoved around mythological creatures, kings and queens, gods and goddesses. Often, the monarchs of the time would cast themselves as these imposing and awe-inspiring characters. In the wake of the French revolution, however, the emphasis on monarchs evaporated as the political nad social climate of dissent towards aristocracy bled over to the arts, and ballet themes changed to gothic, surreal and eerie tales, reenactments of popular myths, and fantastical storylines involving wilis, fairies, ghosts

1. Ballet started as a means of showing off ones wealth and status. Ballet Comique de la Reine is considered the first ballet and was held to celebrate the queen's birthday and lasted 5 hours. Baroque dance developed in the mid 1600's and codified ballet technique. Baroque dance was a little more elaborate than the form of ballet that existed prior to 1650, but was still used to express one's power and wealth. Some women were allowed to dance at this time. Around the time of Baroque dance, Pierre Beauchamps created the 5 ballet positions that are still used today. He created the positions at the request of King Louis XIV. The five positions helped improve a dancer's balance and allowed them to appear more graceful.

Growing from the Renaissance era, studios across the world learn the French terms for each move that when put together, form a combination. They can be integrated into an opera or a formal production to enrich the scenes. The first ballet, Ballet de Polonaise, was performed in 1573 with formal gowns for the aristocrats. As ballet grew in popularity, the Royal Danish Ballet, Imperial Ballet of the Russian Empire, and The Royal Ballet in London were the most sought after companies. Venice was also considered the center of dance where ballerinas traced for cultural exchange.

Have you ever thought about Ballet from years past? What about nowadays? Ballet is an thought-provoking way of dance, and there are many forms of it. It has helped advance into new styles of dance today. Some people think Ballet is the most elegant and poised type or style of dance. Ballet is very similar and different from the early days and now.

The French Revolution was the event were the people of France overthrew their king, Louis XVI (16th) and fought for more rights.The kingdom of France have been ruled for centuries under a regime of monarchy aristocrats and the church. There was a huge social divide between the wealthy and powerful clergy and nobility and the working people. 18th century Europe was seeing a growth in colonialism and many powers trying to come out on top. The French economy had growing pressures and bad harvests and ineffective tax systems which taxed the lower class.

Topic: This article delves into comparisons and differences of contemporary and older forms of ballet.