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Ballet's five basic foot positions were set down more than 300 years ago at the French court of Louis XIV, and dancers still build their training on them.

History of dance

ArtHistory

The story behind the card

Ballet grew out of court entertainments in Renaissance Italy and reached France with the Italian-born Catherine de' Medici, who married the future Henry II; the Ballet Comique de la Reine, staged at the French court in 1581, is often called the first ballet. Louis XIV, a keen dancer who performed in court ballets as a young man, founded the Académie Royale de Danse in 1661. His ballet master Pierre Beauchamp is credited with defining the five positions of the feet, with the legs turned outward from the hips. Because the rules were written down in France, ballet's vocabulary, from plié to pirouette, is still French all over the world.

Türkçe oku
Balenin beş temel ayak pozisyonu, 300 yılı aşkın süre önce XIV. Louis'nin sarayında kurala bağlandı. Bale eğitimi bugün de bu pozisyonların üzerine kurulur.

Bale, Rönesans İtalya'sının saray eğlencelerinden doğdu ve Fransa'ya, sonradan kral olacak II. Henri ile evlenen İtalyan asıllı Catherine de Médicis ile geldi. 1581'de Fransız sarayında sahnelenen Ballet Comique de la Reine çoğu zaman ilk bale sayılır. Gençliğinde saray balelerinde bizzat dans eden XIV. Louis, 1661'de Kraliyet Dans Akademisi'ni (Académie Royale de Danse) kurdu. Beş ayak pozisyonunu, bacakların kalçadan dışa doğru çevrildiği duruşla birlikte tanımlayan kişi olarak da onun bale ustası Pierre Beauchamp bilinir. Kurallar Fransa'da yazıya geçirildiği için plié'den pirouette'e kadar balenin terimleri bugün bütün dünyada Fransızcadır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Ballet
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