Tutus, tiptoes and Tchaikovsky

LETTY COLTMAN pirouettes into the past to pointe out the history of ballet

Watching Strictly Come Dancing on a Saturday evening, throwing uncoordinated shapes at wedding parties, or seeing a ballerina spin around to some dinky music in a small wooden box - the pleasures and art of dance is woven into our lives. 

I was just three years-old when my mum signed my older sister up to some local classes, and seeing how much she loved it, she signed me up too. So, there I was, tiny jazz shoes fitted on my feet as I clung onto my mum’s hand, walking into my first lesson. Obviously, I can’t remember it exactly, but ever since then, dancing has been a part of my life.

In the 16 years that my passion for dancing has flourished, I’ve had the privilege of performing at incredible venues - Blackpool Tower, Disneyland Paris and even the Royal Albert Hall. I’ve met and worked with so many different people who get the same buzz from dancing that I do.

However, despite all my lessons in jazz, tap, contemporary, hip-hop and even acrobatics, none of them can bring me the same feeling of liberty and joy I experience dancing ballet. Nothing can compare to watching from theatre stands as men defy gravity with their jumps, or gliding around the stage yourself with aching legs as the orchestra’s climax melts into a thunderous applause. The intricacy and grandeur of ballet is embedded in our culture, making the style a highly respected and regarded art form. But where did it start?

Ballet beginnings

Despite its popularisation by the French, the official London Theatre Website states that ballet originated in 15^th century Italy, with the word itself deriving from ‘ballare’, Italian for ‘to dance’.

It all began in royal courts, with dancers wearing heeled shoes, bedazzled masks and layers of costuming that restricted their movement, as it was less about skill and more about presentation. Words, pantomime and simple dance movements such as dainty hops or slow turns were used to convey stories often based on Greek or Roman myths. These early ‘ballet’ performances would not look like ballet today, and it took a good couple of centuries for it to properly evolve, eventually spreading across Europe.

Royal spin from the sun king

It was the 1600s when ballet really glided into Europe, thanks to French King Louis XIV’s (reign 1643-1715) deep interest in the dance style, even performing himself in over forty court ballets during his early reign. He adored the challenge and etiquette of ballet, but even further, he would use ballets politically (see Swiss National Museum website).

An example would be his famous love for the Ballet Royal de la Nuit ('Royal Ballet of the Night') in which King Louis XIV portrayed the sun god Apollo, alongside other roles, to glorify himself as ‘The Sun King’. The central premise of the ballet painted him as the rising sun who brought a new day to the shadowed France following the death of his father (King Louis XIII).

The King also founded the Paris Opera Ballet company which dates back to 1661 (see Opera de Paris). This helped to define ballet as its own performance, moving away from its combination with opera and pantomime.

Petipa and the art of ballet

Ballet grew in popularity across the rest of Europe during the 17th Century. By the 1700s, European companies such as the Russian Bolshoi Ballet (1776) and The Royal Swedish Ballet (1773) were making leaps, raising ballet to the art form it is today.

According to the official Atlanta Ballet website, by 1850, Russia was seen as “a leading creative centre of the dance world”, as figures such as Petipa and Tchaikovsky stormed the Russian ballet spaces.

Petipa was the king of classical ballet. Born in France in 1818, his father was already titled a Ballet Master and so already had a legacy set out in front of him. His career kicked off at 21 with employment into the Ballet de Nantes, and from there on his skill and renown only grew. The website of the Marius Petipa Society explores how Petipa’s first ever staged ballet, The Star of Granada (1855), was the first of many major successes, followed his rendering of the classic ghost story Giselle (1884), leading him to continue to be classed after his death in 1910 as one of the great ballet masters.

The Sleeping Beauty (1890), The Nutcracker (1892) and Swan Lake (1895) were also part of his impressive portfolio, all composed by the legendary Tchaikovsky.

Tchaikovsky's influence on ballet

Born in 1840, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was inspired by his mother’s piano playing to pursue the arts. In his early life, his lack of musical education meant breaking through as a composer was challenging. Though his first compositions and operas were respectable, his recognition came to fruition in the 1870s. His finalisation of Swan Lake (1877) wasn’t much of a success at the time of its premiere, but is now one of the most famous and performed ballets in the world. Its iconic score and its tragic love story takes the audience through a cascade of emotions. Many of its dances are also widely recognised and popular, and the beauty of the costuming never fails to impress.

Tchaikovsky pivoted ballet from classical to modern using Western influences and deep emotional tones in his music. He crafted beautiful melodies that still resonate globally, and his pieces are recognised as some of the best compositions to ever grace ballet.

Ballet's love letter to dance

Ballet today is as diverse as the world it inhabits. Classics such as The Nutcracker are standard for theatres in December and is a perennial yuletide favourite. You can watch a Royal Ballet performance of The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House on BBC1 on Xmas Day morning.

Ballets such as Sleeping Beauty have also been revitalised with riveting visuals by modern choreographers such as David McAllister.

With all the influences from royalty, classical movements and new contemporary developments, most ballets today are a culminated love letter to the history of the dance.

Ballet has flowed from the royal courts of Italy all the way to lessons of small girls bouncing around in tutus.

Written by LETTY COLTMAN (BA Creative and Professional Writing student, University of Chester, UK)