What is "ballet"

Ballet \Bal"let`\ (b[a^]l"l[asl]` or b[a^]l"l[e^]t; 277), n.

1. An artistic dance performed as a theatrical entertainment, or an interlude, by a number of persons, usually women. Sometimes, a scene accompanied by pantomime and dancing.

2. The company of persons who perform the ballet.

3. (Mus.) A light part song, or madrigal, with a fa la burden or chorus, -- most common with the Elizabethan madrigal composers; -- also spelled ballett.

4. (Her.) A bearing in coats of arms, representing one or more balls, which are denominated bezants, plates, etc., according to color.

1660s, from French ballette from Italian balletto, diminutive of ballo "a dance" (see ball (n.2)). Balletomane attested by 1930.

n. 1 A classical form of dance. 2 A theatrical presentation of such dancing, usually with music, sometimes in the form of a story. 3 The company of persons who perform this dance. 4 (context music English) A light part song, frequently with a fa-la-la chorus, common among Elizabethan and Italian Renaissance composers. 5 (context heraldry English) A bearing in coat of arms representing one or more balls, called bezants, plates, etc., according to colour.

1. n. a theatrical representation of a story performed to music by ballet dancers [syn: concert dance]

2. music written for a ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres. Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training. Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated their own cultures to evolve the art.

Ballet may also refer to a ballet dance work, which consists of the choreography and music for a ballet production. A well-known example of this is The Nutcracker, a two-act ballet that was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a music score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained artists. Traditional classical ballets usually are performed with classical music accompaniment and use elaborate costumes and staging, whereas modern ballets, such as the neoclassical works of American choreographer George Balanchine, often are performed in simple costumes (e.g., leotards and tights) and without the use of elaborate sets or scenery.

Ballet as a music form progressed from simply a complement to dance, to a concrete compositional form that often had as much value as the dance that went along with it. The dance form, originating in France during the 17th century, began as a theatrical dance. It was not until the 19th century that ballet gained status as a “classical” form. In ballet, the terms ‘classical’ and ‘romantic’ are chronologically reversed from musical usage. Thus, the 19th century classical period in ballet coincided with the 19th century Romantic era in Music. Ballet music composers from the 17th–19th centuries, including the likes of Jean-Baptiste Lully and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, were predominantly in France and Russia. Yet with the increased international notoriety seen in Tchaikovsky’s lifetime, ballet music composition and ballet in general spread across the western world.

Ballet is a formalized kind of performance dance.

Ballet may also refer to:

• Ballet company, a group of dancers who perform ballet
  • Ballet dancer, individual performer
• Ballet (film), a 1995 documentary by Frederick Wiseman about the American Ballet Theater

Ballet is a 1995 American documentary film directed by Frederick Wiseman. It portrays rehearsals, choreography, performances, business transactions, and other day-to-day life of the American Ballet Theatre. Much of the footage dates from the 1992 season. It also includes scenes from the company's European tour, namely in Greece and Copenhagen.

Appearances are made by Susan Jaffe, Julie Kent, Julio Bocca, Angel Corella, Amanda McKerrow, Alessandra Ferri and others. Various ballet masters and choreographers also appear, including Kevin McKenzie, ABT's artistic director, Ulysses Dove, Irina Kolpakova, Natalia Makarova and Agnes de Mille. Business transactions by then-director Jane Hermann are also included.

The film is currently released to the public by Wiseman's distribution company, Zipporah Films