The origins of ballet - Jennifer Tortorello and Adrienne Westwood

Can you imagine a party where every movement and every visual detail were governed by a complex system of rules and procedures? For centuries, such rituals were commonplace for European nobility. And while they’ve gone out of fashion, we recognize the components under a familiar label: ballet. Jennifer Tortorello and Adrienne Westwood outline the history of this graceful and precise dance.

Lesson by Jennifer Tortorello and Adrienne Westwood, animation by Moran Barak Studio.

[esther]

I always thought ballet started in France... you learn something new everyday

[solbilvao]

I'm curious about when did ballet start to be viewed as such a feminine art form, almost exclusively for females?

[lazydancertips]

This is brilliant ! I showed it during an outreach program to year 2 students in London! They absolutely loved it! We then worked our way through to mimic how people would walk around with their big dresses in Italian courts, and all the way to modern days ballet steps . Thank you so so much for the help, it's a great, fun lesson.

[veradu]

Italians invented ballet, the French evolved it, and Russia perfected it

[maddie]

It's interesting how ballet remained prominent in Russia even during the Soviet era, given its aristocratic origin. You'd think that it would be one of the first traditions that the Bolsheviks would have purged, among the trappings of the old elite.

[brynnjohnson]

I've been a dancer almost my entire life, and I always forget that these kinds of things (ballet originating as a form of courtly etiquette, the whole thing with Louis XIV) aren't common knowledge to some people. In most ballet classes, you're taught tons of history about where ballet came from and how it became the way it is today. Another fun fact that wasn't mentioned in this video: there is no particular 'right' technique for certain movements, since there are six main methods of how it is taught -the French method, the Vaganova method (Russian), the Cecchetti method (Italian), the Bournonville method (Danish), the Royal Academy of Dance method (English), and the Balanchine method (American). All of these methods have pretty distinct styles, and they put emphasis on different aspects of dance, such as graceful lines, or strength and endurance. If your ballet training was anything like mine, you probably were most often taught using varying techniques pulled from the French, Vaganova, and Cecchetti methods.

[iliveonmarsm]

As I am watching this video, I'm putting my hair in a bun to go to ballet class! Haha!

[SUPERChris]

Why was the twentieth century left out on this video on ballet? You did mention the Russian role in the development (most likely referring to Diaghilev's les Ballets Russes) of ballet, which was the early twentieth century. But after that, many other forms of ballet arose, that would definitely be worth mentioning in this video, I find.

[Lomogrammaton]

Is it possible to do one about the classical music genre?

[cathryncampbell]

A truly informative video: Thank you! And kudos to you for crediting Catherine de' Medici as the original patron of ballet. Catherine brought chefs, lace makers, embroiderers, musicians, dancers, acrobats, artists, etc. etc. with her when she married the future Henri II of France. So much of French culture evolved from her followers....

[Mhelz]

Russian ballet is absolute perfection! The highest form of art, discipline and elegance! 💖

[giaomila]

Ballet is so beautiful and aesthetic 😍💕

[skytheterrible]

We also have choreographers who break the boundaries of ballet such as Martha Graham and Twyla Tharp, by creating modern and contemporary ballets.

[ellenjarrard]

This was very informative and well-explained.

[Sakura-jfll]

I don’t suppose you could make a separate video that goes in depth to the various periods of ballet’s evolution and how the art of those times influenced ballet

[wunderkind]

awesome video! I would like to ask, is it possible that you guys could eventually do a video on the unification of Italy? It would be really cool.

[islezeus]

you never explained how dancers began dancing on their toes

[mygoldenparis]

Fascinating! Such a beautiful art form💃🏻

[larissamalta]

In my opinion Ballet is like the mother of the dance

[alvinlaurentius]

A little addition: Jean Baptiste Lully was not only the director of royal music academy, but also a quite close friend of Louis XIV, and also a prominent composer in his circle.