The “Pre-birth” of Ballet in Italy

The forerunners of the ballet occurred in Italy during the15th century.

•During the Italian Renaissance the dukes held “competitive games“, which included costly and spectacular “divertissements”

15th cen. Italian dancers

• The dance, or « balletto », was one of the art forms included in these spectacles.

•At a banquet in 1489 a dance called an "entrée," was presented between each course of the meal.

• Some historians consider this the first « ballet ».

Bal des Ardents 1393: [Charles VI] -- Jean Froissart, Chronicles, 15e s.

There was a similar tradition of spectacle in France

•The best known, Bal des Ardents, took place in 1393.

• The king, Charles VI, was a participant, dressed, with 4 of his courtiers, as “mad dogs”.

•The 4 courtiers lost their lives in a fire caused by a wayward torch.

There are two versions as to why the king survived the fire. 1. The king had stopped dancing to speak with a lady of the court. 2. Or that he was saved by the Duchess of Berry who threw her

skirt around him to smother the flames.

The « true-birth » of ballet in France

•Catherine di Medici traveled from Italy to France to marry Henri, the Duke of Orleans, who became king in 1547 as Henri II.

• She brought her love of the Italian divertissements with her to the French court..

•The principal musician to the royal court was, Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx, also from Italy.

• During the reigns of her sons she encouraged Beaujoyeulx to produce the divertissements that were presented at the court.

Catherine di Medici 1519-1589 Queen, Regent & and mother to 3

kings

« Ballet Comique de la Reine » was produced in 1582 at the Louvre by Beaujoyeulx• « Ballet Comique de la Reine » had many « entrées » which included music, spectacle and dance.

•The participants were mostly nobles from the court.

• The choreography was based on dances that the courtiers would already know. par les courtisans.

It is considered the first balletwith a story.

• The « story » was the escape of Ulysses from Circe.

• Circe was a Greek goddess and a magician better known for her capacity to transform men into animals with a wave of her wand.

« Ballet Comique de la Reine » 1582 Réalisé au galerie du Louvre

How were these dances recorded?

« Choreography, or the art of describing the

dance  » Published in 1700 by Feuillet

[who employed an invention of Pierre Beauchamp for

combining the recording of the dancers’ paths as well as the movements of the legs and

feet..]

Although the ballet continued at the French court after the death of Catherine di Medici in 1589, it was Louis XIV (1638-1715 ) who encouraged the development of a professional ballet.

“Le Ballet de la Délivrance de Renaud” 1617 [Louis XIII]

Louis XIV (1638-1715) Le Roi du Soleil

Louis XIV in the costume for Apollo in “La Ballet de la Nuit” – 1653. The king represented the rising sun. 

• Encouraged by Cardinal Marazin, the interest of Louis XIV for the art of dance dates from the beginning of his reign..

•At the age of 15 years he appeared as Apollo in « La Ballet de La Nuit »

•He understood very quickly that the ballet could become a means of reinforcing his power.

• At the end of the ballet, Apollo, « The Sun King », danced by Louis XIV, disperses the forces of the shadows.

• It was a warning to those who thought to oppose the power of the king. • And the message was not lost on those in the king’s court.

Louis XIVThe Sun King(1638-1715)

• He created an Academy of the Dance at in order to train the nobles who appeared in the court ballets. • Although Louis danced past his prime, he did not abandon the art after he retired from the stage in 1670.

• The Academy of Music was founded in 1662, and finally in 1672 Louis gave Jean-Baptiste Lully the right to found the Academy of Dance as a part of the Academy of Music. • The ballet began to become professional during the last years of Louis XIV’s reign.

La Princesse d'Elide -- 1664Comédie Galante with music & ballet intermingled

• This ballet was first performed in a temporary theatre built in the gardens at Versailles.

The minuet was « the king » of the noble dances. • It was thought that how a man danced the minuet was a reflection of his moral character

Below: Louis XIV dancing a minuet

17th centuryExamples of costume designs

•exotic •fantastic

•grotesque & •humorous

Jean-Baptiste Lully

• The artistic power of the composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully, grew over a period of years.

• At first he directed the Academies of Music and Dance. •Finally in 1673, after the death of Molière, Lully also controled “La Comédie Française”.

• The progress of French music slowed under the power of Lully.

• But we need to keep in mind that it was Louis XIV and Lully who created and supported the Academies that exist to this day.

Echoes of the past -- I• The manners of the court.• The steps such as, « l’attitude »

• The 5 positions of the feet• The turnout of the legs from the hips.

Above: An « attitude » compared with the image of the Roman god, Mercury.

Echoes of the Past -- IIThe hierarchical organization of a ballet company• « Le défilé » at the beginning and the end of the ballet season in Paris.

• Etoiles [chosen by the director, the rest are chosen by an annual exam ]• Premier Danseurs/ Danseuses• Grand/Petit Sujets• Coryphées -- Quadrilles• The students. [below]