The History of Ballet

Ballet’s origins can be traced back to France and Italy

Early Court Dances

The Court of King Louis XIV

Ballet Masters and Choreographers

King Louis XIV as the Sun God in Le Ballet de la Nuit

First Ballet School

Pierre Beauchamps Jean-Baptiste Lully

The Pre-Romantic Period

Marie Taglioni in La Gitana

The Romantic Period

Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide

The Russian Classics

Marius Petipa Lev IvanovAara Krumpe and Frank Shott in Ballet Austin’s The Nutcracker

Inga Lujerenko in Ballet Austin’s Swan Lake

The Ballet Russes

Ballet Russes’ Vaslav Nijinsky in Le Spectre de la Rose

Sir Frederick Ashton, Dame Margot Fonteyn, and Robert Helpmann

Ballet in Europe

Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Sleeping Beauty

Ballet in America

Ballet Austin and Ballet Austin II in George Balanchine’s Serenade

Ballet Austin company dancers in One/The Body’s Grace

Contemporary Dance

Ballet Austin’s Ashley Lynn, Frank Shott, and Allisyn Paino in KaiBallet Austin’s Ashley Lynn, Edward Carr, Allisyn Paino, and Paul Michael Bloodgood in Liminal Glam