What is Ballet?
[[Image:Snowdance.jpg|thumb|220px|The Waltz of the Snowflakes from [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s ''[[The Nutcracker]]''.]] [[File:Bakst Nizhinsky.jpg|thumb|220px|Program design by Leon Bakst for Nijinsky's ''L'Apre-Midi d'une Faune'', Paris 1912, Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.]] [[File:Bakst - Ida Rubinstein (1885-1960) comme Helene de Sparte, 1912.jpg|thumb|220px|Costume design by Bakst for the ballerina [[Ida Rubinstein]] as ''Helene de Sparta'', 1912.]] [[File:Darcey Bussell, curtain call for Theme and Variations 2007.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Darcy Bussell and Carlos Acosta taking a curtain call.]] '''Ballet''' is a type of [[dance]]. It is only done by dancers who have had special [[training]]. The dancers are employed by a dance company, and they perform in [[theatre]]s. The first reference to ballet is found in a work of Domenico da Piacenza, who lived in the early [[14th century]]. Ballet involves the creation of the dance itself, often a type of imaginary story. The story is told with the help of dance and [[mime]]. Ballet is a form of expression. It presents a story in a new form to the audience. The creation of a dance is called [[choreography]]. The choreography is learnt by the dancers under the supervision of a trainer, called a ballet master or mistress. Ballet is always performed to [[music]], and in many cases the music was specially composed for a particular ballet. Ballet is a major part of theatre, and a popular example is ''[[The Nutcracker]]''. == History == === Early stages === Ballet grew out of [[Renaissance]] spectacles which, rather like big pop music events today, used every type of performance art. These Italian ballets were further developed in [[France]]. ''Le Ballet Comique de la Reine'' (The Queen's Ballet Comedy) was performed in [[Paris]] in 1581. It was staged by Balthazar de Beaujoyeux, a [[violin]]ist and dancing master at the court of [[Catherine de Medici]]. It was danced by [[amateur]]s in a hall. The royal family were watching at one end and the others in galle