The Paris Opera Ballet is a ballet company in Paris, France. It is proudly the first ballet company in world history. Alongside London's Royal Ballet and Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet, the Paris Opera is one of three most preeminent ballet companies in the world. The Paris Opera Ballet also has a school, for the kids who aspire to be in the company one day. I am a ballet dancer myself, so learning about the history of ballet really interests me.
The Paris Opera Ballet was founded by Louis XIV of France, in 1669, along with it's school, the Paris Opera Ballet School. He was a fan of ballet since birth, and a dancer himself. Ballet originated in Italian and French courts, in the 15th century. Back then, at events and celebrations, they performed steps which are now ballet steps. Actually, sometimes, they would do dances that represent the food they were serving at the event! Louis XIV decided that people should have access to further dance education, so he opened the first ballet studio!Charles Garnier was a French architect (6 November 1825 – 3 August 1898). He was the architect behind the Paris Opera Ballet and the Paris Opera House (where the company performs). He was the winner of many applicants to design and construct the buildings. During the construction, the unfinished material was used as a warehouse for goods, and a military prison.
Now, Aurelie Dupont ( born 15 January, 1973) is the director of the company. She was named director in 2016, after Benjamin Millepied. She traveled through the ranks in the Paris Opera Ballet, and decided to take things a step further, becoming the director of one of the most famous companies in the world. The Paris Opera Ballet is still thriving to this day, and still a very well known company.
Works Cited
"Aurélie Dupont." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"The Ballet School - Artists." Opéra National De Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"Charles Garnier (architect)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"HISTORY OF BALLET |." HISTORY OF BALLET |. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"Louis XIV and the Birth of Classical Ballet." California Ballet Company's Blog. N.p., 24 May 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"Opéra National De Paris." Opéra National De Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"Paris Opera Ballet." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Pointe Shoe Lover,
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is very inspiring. It is so heart warming to hear that you are working hard to achieve a life goal, and are aspiring to improve. The information is fascinating, and it expresses the deep passion you hold for ballet! Do you think your future job will include ballet? You are going places!
Life without ballet would be pointe-less,
-Flexi
Flexi, thank you so much for your sweet comment! I really hope to become a professional ballet dancer, but it is very hard to become one, and ballet dancers retire at an early age, so I will have to have a backup when I get older.
Delete-Pointe Shoe Lover
This post is very informative and interesting. I love the way you work up from the past to the present of ballet. Do you ever imagine yourself being a star or is ballet just a sport for you?
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Pink Caramel! I do hope to go far with my life of ballet, but for a fact, being a ballet dancer for a job doesn't pay well, so I will most likely have to think of a backup plan. I appreciate your comment! Thank you so much!
DeleteDear Pointe Shoe Lover,
ReplyDeleteWow! to think the Paris Opera Ballet company is as old as the French monarchy! I love watching ballet and it is interesting to know that ballet was derived from celebratory dances! What is your favorite ballet performance?
aquaSongbird
Thank you, aquaSongbird! Yes, the Paris Opera Ballet is really old! It is crazy to think that the very first ballet company in the world is still living and growing! My favorite ballet performance is Don Quixote. I love it so much! Heres a link to a video of it if you want to watch!
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fKxzQ8ARTQ
Thanks again!
Pointe Shoe Lover😄
Dear Pointe Shoe Lover,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know ballet was started by Louis XIV! That's so cool! Your post is very personal, which I love. I like how you not only talked about the history of the Paris Opera Ballet, but also the architechture of the building. What age did you start on pointe?
palace43
Thank you so much, palace43!
DeleteI totally agree! Yes, the architecture is fascinating, as well as the dancing its self! I started dancing on pointe when I was ten years old, which is actually slightly early for girls to go on pointe. Usually, girls start on pointe at about 12-13 years old. Thanks again!
-Pointe shoe lover 😀
Hey, Pointe Shoe Lover!
ReplyDeleteThis post was super interesting. I had no idea the Paris Opera Ballet was started by Louis XIV - at first, the internalized sexism built up inside me made me do a double take, because I'm so used to women doing ballet, not men! Speaking of that, have women always dominated the ballet industry, or are men equally apparent in ballet?
Thanks for the lovely post!
- Fri :~)
Fri,
DeleteThank you so much for the sweet comment! To answer your question, women and men aren't equal in ballet; only women wear pointe shoes (go on their toes), and men usually do more jumps and 'manly' things like that. The boys in ballet are the minority, so they are more likely to be accepted into ballet schools, unlike girls, where as millions of them are fighting for the same spot. Thanks again for the comment!
-Pointe Shoe Lover😀
Dear Pointe Shoe Lover,
ReplyDeleteI thought your piece about the Paris Opera Ballet was very interesting especially the fact about the Paris Opera Ballet has a school for kids who aspire to be in the company one day. Do you want to make it far in the ballet industry? if so when did you find out you wanted to be in a large ballet company?
I hope you make it far with your ballet,
nog123
Thank you so much for the comment, nog123!
DeleteI do hope to make it far in the world of dance! I knew ballet was my passion form a very young age, and I have pursued it ever since! Thanks a million for the comment!
-Pointe Shoe Lover😀
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePointe Shoe Lover,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this post! You explained the foundation of the company in a very detailed way, and you have a great connection to this piece of history. You wrote in your post that because you are a dancer, the history of ballet really interests you. What specific thing/s do you find more intriguing than others?
Thanks for the great blog post!
-Wangk
Hi Pointe Shoe Lover,
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is so amazing! I had no idea that the history of a ballet company could be so fascinating, but your combination of information and story together was pure perfection. In your post, you mentioned Louie XVI, and how he helped create the Paris Opera Ballet. I was wondering, wasn't it Louie XVI who first did a royal?
Thanks so much Pointe Shoe Lover!
Angel Cat
Hey pointe Shoe Lover,
ReplyDeleteThis post was very interesting! I was not interested in the topic before this blog. Now I am interested in the history of ballet. I was wondering, what country was the first to do ballet?
great post,
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