History of ballet
Ballet originated in the Renaissance court as an outgrowth of court pageantry in Italy, where aristocratic weddings were lavish celebrations. Tutus, ballet slippers and pointe work were not yet used. The choreography was adapted from court dance steps. Performers dressed in fashions of the times. For women that meant formal gowns that covered their legs to the ankle. Early ballet was participatory, with the audience joining the dance towards the end.
Flower Festival in Genzano
The ballet premiered 19 December 1858 in Copenhagen and was danced in its entirety by Denmarks' Royal Ballet until 1929 when it was dropped from the repertoire. The "pas de deux" was extracted from one of the ensemble dances and lived on in Denmark's Royal Ballet School until Harald Lander, director of the Royal Ballet, once again brought it to the stage in 1949. It is considered one of Bournonville's most perfect compositions. It has to be seen in the Festival of Flowers in Genzano which is a transition to naturalism (one of the stages of Auguste's style) and is characterized as a masterpiece of Bournonville's international virtuosity, so it is a clear example of the Danish style, typical of the Danish school with a very strong and quite good technique, giving greater importance to the feet, that is why he makes use of the vividness and variety of the jumps, the softness of the feet, the speed and brilliance of the small battery. It should be noted that the original ballet disappeared shortly after its premiere because it did not last in time, but in 1875, Bournonville remade a divertiment, in which he kept the deux pas he had used in the montage he had already made in Vienna Festival of Flowers, which remains in the repertoire until 1929 but in 1949 Harald Lander (director of the Royal Ballet) took him to the stage. That is why the entire ballet has not been found but the fragment rescued. It is considered one of Bournonville's most perfect compositions. It is often performed in ballet finery to show the Bournonville style.