http://www.balletmet.org/EDUCATIO/CINDER...
try the link, it should help
Breif history of ballet dancing?oper While the idea of dance exists throughout history, traditions of narrative dance evolved in China, India, Indonesia and Ancient Greece. Theatrical dance was well-established in the wider arena of ancient Greek theatre. When the Roman Empire conquered Greece, it assimilated the Greek art and culture, dance along with it.[1] However, while dance continued to be important throughout the Middle Ages, in spite of occasional suppression by the Church, ballet did not emerge until the late 1500s in Italy. Although Italy began the ballet tradition, it was the French that cemented it. Incorporating some aspects of Italian ballet, French ballet gained prominence in France and eventually international influence. To this day, the brunt of ballet vocabulary originates from French.
While France was instrumental in early ballet, other countries and cultures soon adopted the art form. The most notable of these was Russia, and Russian ballet has had great importance in its country and established a well-recognized tradition of ballet. In the last century, the United States also developed its own traditions, most notably with choreographer George Balanchine. Although interest in dance has expanded with time to include modern dance, jazz, flamenco and other forms, ballet is still performed and taught.
The etymology of the word "ballet" corresponds to the art form's development. The word ballet comes from French and was borrowed into English around the 17th century. The French word in turn has its origins in Italian balletto, a diminutive of ballo (dance). Ballet ultimately traces back to Latin ballere, meaning to dance.[2]
Ballet originated in the Renaissance court as an outgrowth of court pageantry in Italy,[3][4] Aristocratic weddings were lavish celebrations and court musicians and dancers collaborated to provide elaborate entertainment.[5]. Ballet was further shaped by the French ballet de cour, which consisted of social dances performed by the nobility in tandem with music, speech, verse, song, pageant, decor and costume.[6] When Catherine de Medici, an Italian aristocrat with an interest in the arts, married the French crown heir Henry II, she brought her enthusiasm for dance to France and provided financial support.
A ballet of the Renaissance would look nothing like a performance of Giselle or Swan Lake at the Bolshoi. Tutus, ballet slippers and pointe work was unheard of. The choreography was adapted from court dance steps. Performers dressed in fashions of the times. For women that meant formal gowns that covered their legs to the ankle.[7] Early ballet was participatory, with the audience joining the dance towards the end.
Breif history of ballet dancing?hollywood theater opera theater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet#Hist...
