The Royal Court
This French king was known as the "Sun King" and performed in ballets.
Who was Louis XIV?
What language are most traditional ballet terms written in?
French
Which came first?
A. Ballet Today
B. Renaissance Italy
C. Romantic Ballet
B. Renaissance Italy
True or False:
Ballet has looked exactly the same throughout history.
False
I was the King of France and I performed in ballets.
What is Louis XIV?
Early ballet was often performed in these places for royalty and wealthy guests.
What are royal courts/palaces?
Translate plié.
To Bend
Which came first?
A. Louis XIV
B. Romantic Ballet
C. 20th-century ballet
A. Louis XIV
Name one thing that has changed in ballet over time.
Costumes, music, movement, storytelling, technique, staging, etc.
I was associated with codifying the five basic positions of the feet.
Pierre Beauchamp
Louis XIV famously performed as this figure associated with the sun.
Who is Apollo
Translate sauté.
To Jump
Put these in order:
Romantic Ballet → Renaissance Italy → Ballet Today
→ Renaissance Italy → Romantic Ballet → Ballet Today
Early court ballet was often performed as entertainment for royalty. Who is the audience for most professional ballet performances today?
The general public/audiences who purchase tickets or attend performances.
My story is told through beautiful, dramatic ballet and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
White Swan
Why did ballet become popular with royalty in the Renaissance and Baroque eras?
It was elaborate entertainment that could showcase wealth, power, music, costumes, and spectacle.
Why are so many ballet terms French?
French ballet traditions played a major role in developing and codifying ballet technique.
Put these in order:
Royal Academy of Dance → Renaissance Italy → Romantic Ballet → Court Ballet
→ Renaissance Italy → Court Ballet → Royal Academy of Dance → Romantic Ballet
Which would you be more likely to see in a modern ballet than in an early court ballet?
A. Elaborate court costumes
B. Contemporary movement
C. A king performing
D. Royal court entertainment
B. Contemporary movement
I was a French composer who worked closely with Louis XIV and contributed to the development of French opera and court entertainment.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Imagine you are a dancer in Louis XIV's court. Give two things that might make your performance different from a ballet performance today.
Possible answers: elaborate costumes, court setting, royal audience, less emphasis on today's formalized technique, live musicians, scenery/spectacle, etc.
A dancer in another country says, "Do a plié, then a tendu." Why can dancers around the world understand what is being asked?
Ballet developed a shared vocabulary of standardized terms
Put these five in order:
→ Renaissance Italy → Louis XIV → Romantic Ballet → 20th-century experimentation → Ballet Today
Ballet has changed a lot over hundreds of years, but what is one thing that has remained important?
Possible answers: technique, music, storytelling, performance, disciplined training, movement vocabulary, etc.
I am a place rather than a person. I was established in 1661 and helped formalize ballet training in France.
The Académie Royale de Danse / Royal Academy of Dance