Training
Formal ballet training has been taking place since the late 1600's. The oldest ballet school was founded in 1713 by Louis XIV of France as the Royal Dance Academy School; it is now called the Paris Opera Ballet School.
Students typically learn ballet terminology and the pronunciation, meaning, and precise body form and movement associated with each ballet technique term. Emphasis is placed on strengthening the legs and body core (the center, or abdominals) as a strong core is required for many ballet movements (especially turns), and on developing flexibility and strengthening legs and feet for dancing en pointe.
Once the foundation of basic technique has been laid, female dancers begin to learn pointework and male and female dancers begin to learn partnering and more advanced jumps and turns.
Read more about this topic: Classical Ballet
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—Lydia Hoyt Farmer (1842–1903)
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—Beatrice Potter Webb (1858–1943)