Did you know? The History of Ballet
Balletto is Italian diminutive of the ballot, meaning to “dance, to jump about.” Its vocabulary is based on French terminology.
Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century. Noblemen and women were treated to lavish events, especially wedding celebrations, where dancing and music created an elaborated spectacle. Dancing masters taught the steps to the nobility, and the court participated in the performance. One of the first ballet dancing masters was Domenico da Piacenza. Along with his students, Antonio Cornazzano and Guglielmo Ebreo da pesaro, he was trained in dance and responsible for teaching nobles the art. Da Piacenza left one work: De arte saltandi et choreus ducendi (On the art of dancing and conducting dances), which was put together by his students.
In the 16th century, Catherine de Medici - an Italian noblewoman, wife of King Henry II of France and a great patron of the arts - began to fund ballet in the French court.
