BALLET, briPIA' or b5l'let (Fr. dimin. of bal, dance, It. hallo, ball, dance, from Late Lat. and It. ballare, to dance; cognate with ballad). A species of dance, usually forming. on the stage of the present day, an interlude in operatic or other theatrical performances. Owing to its resemblance in this respect to the chorus of classic Greek tragedy, attempts have been made to trace its history back to the pantomimic sacri ficial dances of antiquity. The modern ballet, however, is a development from the court fes tivities of late medireval times. We find it existing in Italy in the beginning of the Six teenth Century, especially at the Court of Turin, where scimrs of the noblest houses took part in it, in song and declamation, as well as in dance; for the ballet at first appeared in com bination with other theatric arts, and com pleted the chaotic medley exhibited in these spectacles, which were at once mythological, alle gorical, fantastic, warlike, and pastoral. From these mingled elements, the ballet, like other features of dramatic entertainments, gradually evolved as a distinct species.
Under Catharine de' Medici it was introduced into France, where most of its modern develop ment has taken place. Baltasarini (called Beau joyeux), Catharine's director of music, conducted in 1581 the famous ballet comique de la seine, and this sort of entertainment soon became such a favorite that royalty itself participated in its performance. Both Louis XIII. and Louis XIV., when young, are said to have danced in the ballets-de-mar, which were still at this period accompanied not only by music, hut by recita tion and song; the expressiveness of dancing and pantomime had not yet reached its dis tinct development. One of the most famous of the court ballets was the Triomphe d-'Amour, produced by Quinault, Benserade. and Lulli in 1681. It was Lulli who is said to have first had women participate in a ballet, even female parts having up to his time been taken by young men. The idea of the ballet in pantomime without words, as we have it, was suggested early in the Eighteenth Century by the Duchess of Maine. The celebrated Noverre put her idea
into practice, and developed the so-called ballet d'action, in which the expressive power of dance and gesture attained by themselves a high degree of dramatic art. During the Eighteenth Century also the famous Vestris family of dancers came to celebrity. Gal•tan Vestris, the first of them, thought so highly of himself as an artist that he was wont highly say that there were hut three great men in the world—himself, Voltaire, and the King of Prussia. His son. Auguste, was no less distinguished. With the Revolution, the ballet figured prominently in many of the national ftes, and somewhat changed its char acter. The great dramatic pantomime flourished also with Galeotti in Copenhagen, and in Milan longer than the earlier traditions were main tained elsewhere. In France, during the Consul ate, an element of comedy was introduced into the ballet in such works as MAI Dansomanie and the Arlequinades. During the Nineteenth Century the ballet came gradually to its present form. Perhaps the three most famous dancers of the century were Marie Taglioni, who ap peared in the Carnival de Fenise, in 1827. and became immensely popular; Carlotta Grisi, who was famous in Oise//c; and Fanny Ellsler, who was especially a favorite in La Tarantale and Le Diab/c boitcux.
In the opera of the present day, the ballet is generally more or less integrally incorporated in the play. Thus in Faust, it appears as part of the entertainment with which Faust is di verted in accordance with the plans of Mephis topheles. In many instances, however, the ballet has lost its original artistic character, and the forms which it takes are in taste extremely various. Consult: Nenestrier, Des ballets uneisms et modernes (Paris, 1682) ; Noverre, Lcttres stir• he dense et sur les ballets (Lyons, 1760, new ed., Paris, 1S07) ; Castil-Blaze, La dense et les bullets (Paris, 1332) ; Voss, Der Taw; mid seine Gesehiehte (Berlin, 1S68) : A. Pougin, Die tionnaire historique du theatre (Paris, 1885).