The History of Ballet

     Ballet began in the 1500s during the Renaissance in Italy. It was brought to France by Catherine de’ Medici, and it later spread to Russia. In the beginning, dancers and performers wore lots of clothes and masks that made it difficult to move in. Most of the dances consisted of small hops, jumps, and gentle turns.

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     By the 1850s, Russia had become a creative influence and leader in the dance world. Early in the 1900s, Russian theater director, Serge Diaghilev, gathered some of the most talented dancers, singers, choreographers, composers, and designers to start the Ballet Russes (see sub page). They toured Europe and America presenting a wide variety of ballets.

     In America, ballet grew during the 1930s, when many of Diaghilev’s performers left his company to work and live in the United States. George Balanchine is one of the best known dancers who firmly established ballet in America by starting the New York City Ballet. Another important person in the ballet world was Adolph Bolm, the first director of San Francisco Ballet School.