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.
Olga Smirnova (ballet)
Born in St Petersburg, Smirnova comes from a family with no connections with ballet. Her mother encouraged her to take up the art at the Vaganova Academy where she studied under Lyudmila Kovaleva. The academy, which some consider as the source of modern ballet, is over 260 years old. She participated in the academy's tours across Europe and Japan, performing in the 2004 presentation arranged jointly with the Royal Ballet School. In 2011, immediately after her graduation, she was recruited by the Bolshoi and spent just one day in the corps de ballet before taking on solos. Having joined the company as a soloist, she was promoted to first soloist in her first season and to leading soloist at the end of her second season in 2013. In 2011, while still a student at the Vaganova academy she appeared in London at the London Coliseum to commemorate Galina Ulanova, who is said to be one of the greatest of ballerinas. For the commemoration routine, which was choreographed by A. Messerer and accompanied by Dvořák's "Melody", Smirnova danced with S. Strelkov. She also danced, in June of that year, at Diana Vishneva's benefit performance at the Mariinsky theatre. The following month she was in Beijing, partnered by the Bolshoi's principal dancer Semyon Chudin, performing "Grand Pas Classique" (choreography by V. Gsovsky) to music by the 19th century French composer Daniel Auber.