| Right from the beginning, ballet and | | | | classical composers such as Mozart, |
| music have been uniquely intertwined. | | | | Bach, Vivaldi, Chopin, Brahms, and |
| Without music ballet is nothing more | | | | Handel to perform the art of ballet |
| than the empty motions of a ritual. | | | | dancing too. |
| Without the movement and rhythm of | | | | Many agree that ballet owes its very |
| dance, music looses all vitality. And | | | | existence to the likes of those who are |
| so, ballet as a doorway to human | | | | both composers and choreographers. |
| expression hinges on both music and | | | | Because being musicians in nature, they |
| dance. | | | | naturally pay close attention to ballet |
| Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), the | | | | following the rhythmic structure of its |
| Italian-born French composer who founded | | | | accompaniment precisely. One who does |
| the national French opera was not just a | | | | not understand music can easily create |
| court composer to Louis XIV, but also a | | | | ballet that looks good that in of |
| choreographer who produced court ballets | | | | itself, yet at the mercy of a great |
| for Molière's plays. This probably | | | | classical piece the novice falls short |
| explains why his productions never | | | | of expressing the true nature of the |
| lacked an accompaniment. However, | | | | piece. Instead, they turn the production |
| theatre productions of the eighteenth | | | | into a form of movement that is devoid |
| century turned composers away from | | | | of both art and beauty. The experts |
| ballet and toward the music of ballroom | | | | instead know when it is appropriate to |
| dancing. | | | | go against the grain of the |
| This phase sustained its self straight | | | | accompaniment to heighten those dramatic |
| through the nineteenth century with the | | | | periods which capture their audience's |
| exception of pieces by Russian classical | | | | attention and leaves them breathless. |
| composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | | | | As we dawn a new era of music and dance, |
| (1840-1893) which include the | | | | it's undeniable that ballet will |
| Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping | | | | continue to change. However, just as |
| Beauty. | | | | music and dance have always been the |
| In the twentieth century however, ballet | | | | best of friends, ballet will continue to |
| came back to the spotlight. Once again | | | | find its new identity in the constantly |
| considered a respectable art form, | | | | changing music of today. |
| choreographers looked to the works of | | | | |