The Art of Ballet

A chronological study traces dance from ancient ritual and classical antiquity through medieval liturgical and court entertainments to Renaissance spectacle and the formalization of French technique under royal patronage. The text profiles influential theorists, choreographers, and celebrated dancers, and examines aesthetic and technical shifts such as the rise of pantomime, the Romantic ballet and the codification of technique. It also surveys major theatres and institutions that shaped popular and professional practice, considers national schools and repertory developments, and closes by discussing late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century revivals and international influences that pointed toward the art's future.