Editing Classical ballet (section)

== History ==

{{main|History of ballet}}
Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts and was brought to France by [[Catherine de' Medici]] in the 16th century.<ref name = "Au">
{{cite book
 | last = Au
 | first = Susan
 | title = Ballet and Modern Dance
 | year = 2002|publisher=Thames and Hudson
 | isbn = 978-0-500-20352-1}}
</ref> During ballet's infancy, [[Ballets de cour|court ballets]] were performed by aristocratic amateurs rather than professional dancers.<ref name="Au" /> Most of ballet's early movements evolved from social court dances and prominently featured stage patterns rather than formal ballet technique.

In the 17th century, as ballet's popularity in France increased, ballet began to gradually transform into a professional art. It was no longer performed by amateurs, but instead ballet performances started to incorporate challenging acrobatic movements that could only be performed by highly skilled street entertainers.<ref name="Au" /> In response, the world's first ballet school, the [[Académie Royale de Danse]], was established by [[King Louis XIV]] in 1661.<ref name="Au" /> The Academie's purpose was to improve the quality of dance training in France and to invent a technique or curriculum that could be used to transform ballet into a formal discipline. Shortly after the Academie was formed, in 1672, King Louis XIV established a performing company called the Academie Royal de Musique de Dance (today known as Paris Opera), and named Pierre Beauchamp the head dancing-master.<ref name="Au" /> While at the Academie Royal, Beauchamp revolutionized ballet technique by inventing the five positions (first, second, third, fourth and fifth) of ballet, which to this day remain the foundation of all formal classical ballet technique.<ref name="Au" />

===Famous dancers in history===
* [[Anna Pavlova]]: 12 February 1881 – 23 January 1931
* [[Dame Margot Fonteyn]]: 18 May 1919 – 21 February 1991
* [[Rudolf Nureyev]]: 17 March 1938 – 6 January 1993