Ballet - A History of the Art

Ballet is one of the world's most famous dance styles. Performed to millions of audiences around the world, the beauty of the dance style can take viewers through different stories, allowing the audience to escape into worlds of fantasy and beauty. However, despite ballet's beauty, how exactly did it become so popular, and how intense is it on its dancers?

(Image credit to fity.club)

A Brief History

The ballet dance style was originally founded in 15th-century Italy (in the Renaissance Courts). The ballet style was originally made for court entertainment, and the term can be attributed to founder Domencio De Piacenza, who had the idea to combine several dance styles into the style of ballet. Ballet as a genre became formalised in the 16th century, and the first ballet was performed in 1581: it was known as Ballet Comique de la Reine Louise (translating to ‘Comedic Ballet of Queen Louise'). Despite its founding in Italy, ballet is more commonly associated with France. After being introduced into French culture by Catherine De’Medici, the first ever ballet company was established in 1669. The Paris Opera Ballet is still running in today's society, marking it as the world's oldest and most famous ballet academy, putting on performances to watch. Despite dance now becoming a female-dominated industry, ballet itself was originally male-dominated, as women were not allowed to dance professionally. As society and culture changed over the years, so did the intentions of the ballet industry and style. What started as court entertainment has grown into theatrical performances that focus on narrative styles and storytelling.

Training and Discipline:

Training to become a ballet dancer typically starts around the ages of 3-6 for girls, and the ages of 3-4 for boys. However, despite the dance style's popularity amongst young children and adolescents, only around 3-5% of dancers will become professional and join major ballet companies. Dancers will typically train for around 8 to 12 hours a day to maintain peak performance levels and keep their bodies flexible for the intense tricks and movements. Training usually starts with learning what's known as the ‘building blocks of ballet’. These building blocks are known as ‘positions’, and go up to the 5th position. Once the positions are learned, foundation-level skills like pliés, tendus, jetés and pirouettes are introduced. As a dancer moves up the levels, different dance equipment is introduced into their training. Pointe shoes are introduced once a dancer has the strength, technique and level to dance at a higher level. Unlike ballet flats (which are shoes made of a canvas or leather material), pointe shoes contain a wooden block at the end of the shoe, allowing dancers to perform fully on their tiptoes, rather than on a relevé. Dancers train by using strength exercises to engage and strengthen core muscles to keep up with the performance demands. Furthermore, leg stretching exercises like yoga or gymnastics unlock hip flexibility, which is vital in a ballet performance. In a ballet class, the lesson typically starts with barre work, which focuses on ballet basics (the positions and foundation movements), and stretching to warm up the body. After this, centrework (or adagio) is performed to place the dancers in a state of focus. Ballet dancers are on very strict diets and training regimes to prevent injury and ensure the body is perfect for performances or exams. On average, around 60-80% of ballet dancers will sustain an injury within their career, so warming up the body is essential to prevent injuries from occurring.

Media and Global Attention. 

Ballet as a dance style is recognised globally, with competitions and films taking advantage of its popularity. For example, after the example of the film ‘The Black Swan’ in 2010, millions of people attended cinema screenings and live performances of ‘Swan Lake’, boosting the popularity of ballet. Furthermore, the movie and stage show ‘Billy Elliot’ introduced boys into the world of dance and showed how ballet can bring equality to young boys and girls with a passion for dance. Ballet has also influenced not only the media but the dance industry itself, making it more strict and introducing competitions between dancers. One of the most famous dance competitions is known as the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), which hosts competitions and auditions for dancers aged 9-20 years old. Winners of the competition receive scholarships from the company and go on to perform in professional works with professional companies. 

Expenses

Ballet is one of the most expensive dance styles to train in, with shoes and equipment being replaced frequently. Pointe shoes range from around $50 to anything above $100, and these have to be replaced every 4 months to a year, depending on the level a dancer is competing at. To train and attend a ballet school, the tuition can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 for the academic year, not including equipment and travelling costs. These expenses are just one of the reasons why the percentage of professional dancers is so low, as many dancers cannot afford to carry on training after a few years. The average ballet career ends at around 30 years old, due to the intensity of the dance style and the costs that come with it. 

Article written by Em Haines