This weekend, I got to see the Paris Opera Ballet perform “Giselle” at the Kennedy Center! (Check out a clip here!) The Paris Opera Ballet was the first professional ballet company, which started over 300 years ago! King Louis XIV of France was very interested in the Italian Court Dances from the 1400s, so he began to take dance lessons. When he was only 14 years old, he danced in a ballet that lasted for 12 hours! King Louis XIV started his own ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet, which began with only male dancers! The first female dancer joined in 1681.
Since the first ballet company began in France, most of the ballet terminology we use today is in French! For example, Plié means bending, and Sauté means jumping! Do you recognize those ballet steps?
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