4.5. When was the first ballet school started?
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This article is from the Ballet and Modern Dance FAQ, by Tom Parsons twp@panix.com with numerous contributions by others.
4.5. When was the first ballet school started?
The "Acad'emie Royale de la Danse" was founded in 1661 by Louis XIV
of France. (He was an enthusiastic dancer; we are told that his sobriquet,
"le Roi Soleil", "the Sun King," stemmed from his performance as Apollo in
"Le Ballet de la Nuit", although Jaques Barzun claims that Louis XIII had
the title before him.)
Whether the "Acad'emie" was a ballet school as we think of them
today is uncertain. The French use the term somewhat differently than
in English-speaking countries, and an "Acad'emie" is apt to be as much
a standardizing organization as a school. (Think of the "Acad'emie
Fran\u2021aise".) The charter of the "Acad'emie Royale de la Danse" suggests
as much: it was to "reestablish the said art in its perfection, and to
increase it as much as possible."
So it may have been as much a school for dance teachers as for
dancers. In any case, it codified and standardized much of the teaching
of ballet. (The five positions of the feet were either defined or
standardized by the "Acad'emie".) Its most notable member was probably
Pierre Beauchamps, who had been the king's personal dance instructor. This
school was later merged with the "Acad'emie Royale de Musique", and was
eventually absorbed into the Paris Op'era.
From this background you can understand the roots of ballet: folk
dancing, first refined by the court, and then turned into a theatrical
display and an art. Each of these influences made its own contribution:
the court added gracefulness and dignity, and the theater contributed
professionalism and virtuosity.
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