Ballet Background
Ballet is a formalized type of per formative dance, started in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form. Initially performed at Operas, Ballet later became a performing art of its own. The early ballet dancers were not as highly skilled as they are now. It has since become a highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary. It is mainly performed with the accompaniment of classical music. It has been influential as a form of dance globally and is taught in ballet schools around the world, which use their own cultures and societies to inform the art. Ballet dance works (ballets) are choreographed, and also include mime, acting, and are set to music (usually orchestral but occasionally vocal). Later developments include expressionist ballet, and elements of Modern dance.
The most well-known styles of ballet are the Vaganova method, or Russian Method, after Agrippina Vaganova, the Cecchetti method, or Italian Method, after Enrico Cecchetti, the Bournonville Method, or Danish Method, after August Bournonville, the Balanchine Method, or School of American Ballet/ New York City Ballet Method, after George Balanchine, and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and Royal Ballet School methods, created in England.
