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What is Classical Ballet?

Classical ballet, also called romantic ballet, is a system of dance based on formalised movements and positions of the arms, feet, and body designed to enable the dancer to move with the greatest possible agility, control, speed, lightness, and grace. Classical-ballet technique is based on the turned-out position of the legs, which increases the range of movement through added mobility in the hip joint and also imparts a more pleasing line to the extended leg.

The subject matter of classical ballet may be romantic, realistic, or mythological; a variety of dramatic and emotional situations may be represented. A classical production is divided into three sections: the opening pas de deux (dance for two), or adagio; variations or individual performances by the partners, first by the male and then by the female; and the final pas de deux, or coda.

Where does classical ballet originate from?

Classical ballet, with origins in the 17th-century French court ballet, came to fruition at the Russian Imperial School of Ballet, directed in the 19th century by Marius Petipa, and in the works of the Italian choreographic masters Carlo Blasis and Enrico Cecchetti.

Blasis’s Traité élémentaire, théorique et pratique de l’art de la danse (1820) was the first formal codification of classical-ballet technique. As head of the ballet school at La Scala, Milan, he applied his strict methods and emphasis on form; the school became the principal source of solo dancers who spread classical ballet across Europe. Examples of classical ballets that have survived in repertoires throughout the world are Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.

What is the difference between classical ballet and contemporary ballet?

A classical ballet has certain rules that must be followed but a contemporary ballet has none. In a contemporary ballet there might not be music, costumes, scenery, story or footwear. A classical ballet has five specific ingredients that must be included.

It must tell a story – often a fairy tale involving a boy/girl plot with a problem to be resolved by the end. Some of the most famous ballet works include Cinderella, Coppélia, Don Quixote, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and Sleeping Beauty. All of them, or at least most of them, are all well-known adored fairy tales that are instilled into our minds from a young age. Often in these tales it involves a boy and girl plot with a problem that gets resolved by the end. Usually, good prevails over evil.

It must have costumes and scenery. The story of a classical ballet is always supported by beautiful music which goes with the story, expensive and extravagant costumes and elaborate scenery. Female dancers in a classical ballet must wear pointe shoes and tutus.

It must have music and the music must go with the story. The music is a key point in every ballet scene. Depending on what type of a story it is sad, happy, mystery etc. the music will be different type.