Ballet is a theatrical dance form with a codified technique. Developed from court productions of the Renaissance, ballet was renewed under Louis XIV, who in 1661 established France's Acad?mie Royale de Danse, where Pierre Beauchamps developed the five positions of the feet.
Significant developments in the early 19th century included pointe work (balance on the extreme tip of the toe) and the emergence of the prima ballerina, exemplified by Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russia became the centre of ballet production and performance through the work of innovators such as Serge Diaghilev, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Marius Petipa and Michel Fokine. Since then, ballet has appeared on stages and in dance schools around the world.
Ballet has become diversified since its beginnings in the 1600s. A few of the many styles that have developed follow:
Ballet d'action (dramatic ballet) is primarily designed to tell a story, generally a tragic one, using dance steps and mime. Jean-Georges Noverre of France and Gasparo Angiolini of Italy separately developed the ballet d'action in the 18th century.
Ballet jazz is a contemporary fusion of the technical vocabulary of classical ballet and stylistic elements of jazz dance.
Comédie-ballets were comedic plays that included substantial amounts of music and dancing. Many were written by French playwright Molière to entertain Louis XIV and his court. Le Bourgeois gentilhomme , a collaboration between Molière and composer Jean-Baptiste Lully which premiered in 1670, is a famous example.
Ice ballet is a ballet on skates. It differs from competitive ice dance in that ice ballet is intended as artistic entertainment. Canadian Boris Volkoff was recognized as an important contributor to ice ballet choreography in the 1930s and 1940s.
Neo-classical ballet is a 20th-century style, most closely associated with George Balanchine and his works for the New York City Ballet. Neo-classical ballet draws on the vocabulary of 19th-century Russian Imperial dance but strips it of detailed narrative and lavish theatrical settings.
Psychological ballets, developed in the 20th century by British choreographer Antony Tudor, reveal the inner being of the characters and explore themes such as grief, jealousy, rejection and frustration.
Rock ballet refers to a ballet performed to rock music.
