Ballet Dancing Research Paper

Ballet Dancing John Dryden once said, “Dancing is the poetry of the foot” (John Dryden Quotes). This statement speaks absolute truth especially about ballet dancing. Ballet dancing is defined by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as, “an art form created by the movement of the human body” (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre). It is performed on stage to a variety of audiences while using costumes and music to complete the performance. Ballet tells a story or expresses emotions through the movement of people’s bodies using different styles to convey the message they want the audience to receive (Pittsburgh Dance Theatre). Although ballet dancing has changed since it began in the 1600s, from a classical manner to a present day modern manner, ballet will continue to be an important expression of art. Ballet dancing originated in the 15th century during the Italian Renaissance. Noble men and women would come together at different occasions and listen to music and dance. The more noble would teach the others how to do the movements.

This occurred during King Louis XIV reign and he made professional training of ballet an up to date style (Atlanta Ballet). In the 1800s, a dance academy opened in Paris that was supportive of the professional training movement and also moved ballet to be performed on a stage. During this time dancing with pointe shoes became a new trend that only female dancer’s would present. This created a romantic movement in dance and allowed the tutu to become the new costume the dancers wore that was made out of tool (Pittsburgh Dance Theatre). In the 20th century dancing excelled at a rapid rate spreading through Russia and America. Tutus became shorter and technique the dancer’s had became more important and competitive. This pushed ballet to leave the classical form and open to more modern ideas (Atlanta