Ballet Technique

(Selma Jeanne Cohen, Dance as a Theatre Art, p.7-9) .
             It has been said that France is where classical ballet really developed and with that came the beginnings of technique. With King Louis XIV, the most famous dancer of the seventeenth century, came a different caliber of ballet. He dominated the ballet of France, which in turn dominated the ballet of Europe. He appeared as Apollo and the Sun King to name a few out of his many ballet entrées. It is unquestionable that ballet owes its early development technically, to Louis XIV, a fervent admirer of the Ballet. He saw in himself a wonderful opportunity to use his power for good! Having knowledge of ballet and performance, since the age of thirteen when he appeared in his first ballet, he surrounded himself with the greatest dancing masters and artists of his time. People like Beauchamp and Lully helped him change ballet from a "fan dance- to become a dance of select professionals. In 1661 Louis XIV founded the Académie Royale de Danse, where a professional organization of the above and a few other dancing masters taught the technique of classical ballet. Although this organization eventually disbanded, its establishment was a sign that official recognition was being given to dance. In1669 Louis took a more decisive step and opened the step opening the Académie Royale de Musique, known still today as the Paris Opéra. (Anderson, Ballet and Modern Dance) .
             As for Pierre Beauchamp, the only known information is as follows. He lived from 1636-1705, was a French musician and dancer, who came from a family of the same artistic background. In 1650 King Louis XIV made him superintendent of the ballet, and danced many times with the King in the ballet de cour. A man by the name of Jean Baptiste Lully appointed him director of the Academie Royale de Danse. Lully was a French comedic dancer who although danced in some thirty ballets, his greatest importance was as a composer of elegant, sophisticated music.