BALLET (of similar derivation with the word ball—see BALLAD), a species of dance usually forming an interlude in theatrical performances, but confined principally to operas. Properly, a B. is a theatrical exhibition of the art of dancing in its highest per fection, and must therefore, in general, comply with the rules of the drama as to its composition and form. The pantomimic sacrificial dances of antiquity, although they may be regarded as the source of Attic tragedy, are not to be considered as directly the origin of the ballet. The B., as known to us, undoubtedly originated in the service of the courts. We find it existing in Italy in the beginning of the 16th c., especially at the court of Turin, where it was enriched by the inventive genius of count Aglio; and where the princes and princesses of the court themselves took part in it, in song and declama tion as well as in dance; for the B. at first appeared in combination with the other theatrical arts, and completed the chaotic medley exhibited in these spectacles, which were at once mythological, allegorical, fantastic, warlike, and pastoral. From these mingled elements the individual species of dramatic entertainments were gradually evolved in their distinct forms. Baltagerini, director of music to Catharine de' Medici, was the first to introduce the B. into France, where it soon became such a favorite. that Louis XIII. danced in one of these ballets, and his example was followed by Louis XIV. in his youth. The latter made his last appearance on the stage in 1699, in the B. of Fora. Hitherto. the 13. had always appeared in combination with the characteristic features of the opera, and even of comedy, as is evident from the works of Quinault and Moliere, arranged by Lully. The art of dancing possessed then little dramatic expression, and still required to be introduced and explained by singing and recitation. In 1607, Antoine Houbart de Moue undertook to reform the B., to which he imparted both dramatic action and the expression of passionate feeling. About this time, women first made their appearance
in the B., as well as in plays and operas, which had till then been performed exclusively by men. There is no mention of any female B.-dancer of note before 1790. About the of the 18th c., Noverre separated the B. from the opera, gave it an independent (lninyttie form, and laid the foundation in his writings of an ingenious theory on the subject. The mythological B., a relic of the magnificence of Versailles, came to an end (luring the consulate, when it gave place to the newly invented comic ballets Dansomanie, I,: Mlle final Gardee, and the Arleviluzda. Vincenzo Galcotti, in Copenhagen, carried out the ideas of Noverre so far as to subordinate the dance to purely principles, instead of giving it the first place as formerly; and thus he gave to his ballets the char acter of great rhythmical pantomimes. These splendid and talented performances were longest kept no in the theater of Milan, where the most lifelike and magnificent tableaux were exhibited in pantomime; and subjects were attempted far beyond the limits of the ballet. The story of Hamlet was turned into a B., and the subjects of several other tragedies were similarly treated. In general, the 13. has now become unfaithful to its original design and its true artistic signification; and exhausts itself in the exhibition of mere feats of bodily agility, tasteless displays of artificial dexterity, distortions of the person almost to dislocation, and balancings of the figure in attitudes often indelicate. Consisting as it does mon) of external Show than inteintti meaning, it contributes gradu ally to blunt the public taste for the enjoyment of the legitimate drama, which speaks more to the mind than to the eye.
so named from its resembling a ball placed in a circular flower; an ornament peculiar to the decorated style of Gothic architecture which prevailed in the 14th century. The B.-F. is supposed by some to be an imitation of a pomegranate, by others of a hawk's bell.