Swan lake 400

History Of Ballet

By zoecunningham

  • Birth of Louis XIV

    The birth of Louis XIV was celebrated with a dance performance

  • Composer Jean-Baptiste Lully's new school

    Composer Jean-Baptiste Lully took charge of a new dance school

  • Modern Ballet Technique

    Paris. Auguste Vestris laid the foundations for modern ballet technique. He taught many dancers, including August Bournonville and Marius Pétipa

  • Marie Taglioni's debut

    Ballerina Marie Taglioni made her debut, showing off the new skills of both appearance to float and to dance on her toes

  • Marius Pétipa becomes Ballet Master

    Marius Pétipa became Ballet Master at the Imperial Ballet of St Petersburg and continued for 50 years

  • Birth of the Ballets Russes

    Expat Russian Serge Diaghilev formed the Ballets Russes, luring away Imperial Ballet's chief choreographer Michel Fokine and star dancers from the company, among them Vaslav Nijinsky

  • Soviet Union Ballet

    In the Soviet Union, ballet was used as a political tool. Approved works include hits such as Bolshoi's 1927 'The Red Poppy'

  • Life to the Paris Opera Ballet

    Serge Lifar brought the Paris Opera Ballet back to life

  • Birth of the New York City Ballet

    George Balanchine formed what would become New York City Ballet

  • Maintaining History

    Major companies New York City Ballet and the Royal Ballet, while preserving their heritage works, continue to invest in new work from choreographers such as Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon.