International book international book of favorite sports2 | Page 28

But Louis XIV himself is genuinely interested in dancing, and in 1661 he decides
that his colleagues are not up to scratch. He brings together the best Parisian
dancing masters to form the Académie Royale de Danse, where his friends'
skills may be honed. It is so successful that he follows it in 1669 with a similar
Académie Royale de Musique.
Costumes during this time were far from liberating to the dancer. Although a
more expressive use of the body was encouraged, dancers' movements were still
restricted due to heavy materials, panniers, and tonnelets. Costume fabrics were
heavy and covered a dancer's physique. It wasn't until choreographer Jean
Georges Noverre called for dance reforms in 1760 with his Letters on Dancing
and Ballets that costumes became more conducive to the art form. Noverre
urged that costumes be crafted using lightweight fabrics that move fluidly with
the body, complimenting a dancer's figure. At the end of the century, dancers
wore soft slippers fitting snuggly along the foot. This shoe design instilled
confidence within the ballerina, daring her to dance on her toes. This opened the
door to pointework, for this acceptance of more naturalistic costuming allowed
the development of the heel-less shoe, which led to the dancer being able to
make more use of the rise onto demi-pointe.
The era of Romanticism produced ballets inspired by fantasy, mystique, and the
unfamiliar cultures of exotic places. Ballets that focused more on the emotions,
the fantasy and the spiritual worlds, heralded the beginning of true pointe-work.
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