Ballet is a beautiful form of dance that has captivated audiences for many years. Typically performed in a theatre, ballet is a powerful art that combines beauty and grace to tell a story. Ballet dancers must work very hard for many years to become good enough to perform in a professional ballet company, but this doesn't stop many little girls from dreaming that they can become the next prima ballerina.



Many people think that ballet originated in France, due the ballet steps that all have French names, such as the plie. However, ballet can be traced back to Italy during the Renaissance period of the 1400s. While this was really just a precursor to the classical ballet, the dances performed in Italy during this time led to the further development of ballet in France. The first ballet company arose in France and was called The Queen's Ballet Company.

Development of ballet and its popularity can be credited to the royalty. Popularity led to creation of beautiful dances, extravagant costumes, sets, and props. With passage of time, the costumes continued to become more intricate, and toe dancing was introduced. However, the dancers could only hold their positions for just a few seconds as block toe shoes were yet to be invented.

La Sylphide is credited with introducing the romantic style of ballet in the 1800s. This style used the toe dancing technique extensively and brought about many changes to ballet. However, to answer the question posed by many, the traditional tutu came from the ballet Giselle where the tutu was worn by all the ghostly spirits.

Romantic ballet featured many women dancers. Some ballerinas came from the United States. Ballet was also embraced in Russia and Denmark, but was actually declining in France. During these years ballet was considered ghostly and mythical, unrelated to natural human movement.

The shift from mythical steps to a more reasonable style that could be co-related to human movements came about in the twentieth century. This was because of the many different styles of dance that were becoming increasingly popular. The change that started in the twentieth century continues to transform ballet even today where it incorporates different styles of dance.

These days ballets have evolved as a combination with another style of dance to produce a new symphony in the art of dance. This process began in 1944, when a ballet called Fancy Free was introduced. This ballet used jazz dance with the ballet steps to create a revolutionary dance form.

Today many more modern ballets are being performed, while at the same time audiences still love the classical and romantic forms. All of these styles are still taught and performed as ballet is immensely popular. People are constantly impressed at the variety and complexity of movements that humans are capable of. Even though most of us will never be able to perform these moves, we can marvel and dream when we see ballet on stage.