The French word ballet comes from the Italian verb ballare, which means "dance." Modern ballet is a mixture of classical, folk and national dances, gymnastics, pantomime and sometimes even acrobatics.
Instruction manual
1
Ballet first appeared in Italy, then in France. It is curious that history even knows the date of the first French ballet production. On October 15, 1581, the royal family and courtiers saw the production of The Circe, or Queen's Comedy Ballet. The idea of the performance belongs to one of the court violinists - the Italian Balthazarini de Belgio.
2
At the dawn of the ballet, it was based on dances adopted at the royal court. After about a hundred years, new genres are emerging: comedy ballet, ballet opera and others. The music for such performances is beginning to be singled out in a special genre, and they strive to dramatize the production as much as possible. A century later, ballet became an independent art form. A significant role in this was played by the French choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre, who carried out a number of reforms and made a bet on disclosing the contents of the production through expressive images.
3
Russian ballet has always been singled out in a special category. The first performance in Russia was staged on February 8, 1673. On that day, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, near Moscow, and wanted to have fun. According to legend, he liked the ballet so much that he ordered the development of this direction of art.
4
Russian ballet as a special part of the general ballet art began to take shape at the beginning of the 19th century. French choreographer Charles-Louis Didlo made a closer connection between dance steps and pantomime, increased the value of the corps de ballet. It was he who made the center of the production a female dance. Russian ballet would not be known all over the world if it were not for the composer P.I. Chaikovsky. It was he who owned the music, which became the basis of the classic ballets The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and others. Deep penetrating music made it possible for dancers to more fully reveal the figurative content, to express the feelings and experiences of the heroes with dramatic means. On the stage, the characters grew, developed, fought each other and themselves, fell in love, killed. Ballet is no longer just a form of dance, but has become a real art, understandable to the audience.
5
The academic ballet of the 19th century was chained to the framework of rules, stereotypes and conventions. At the beginning of the 20th century, not only in Russia but also in other countries of the world, an intensive search for new forms began. Art Nouveau appeared - an alternative to strict ballet forms, and then free dance. Isadora Duncan is thought to have invented free dance. She was convinced that the dance is natural, is a part of every person and reflects the language of the soul. It was Duncan who first came down from the ballet pointes, refused uncomfortable packs in favor of light and flying robes. Free dance has become a global movement, which served as an impetus for the next evolutionary round of ballet.
