A highly trained form of dance that tells a story or expresses ideas through precise movements, often performed on stage. Dancers usually wear special shoes and costumes.
It comes from French “ballet,” from Italian “balletto,” a small dance, which is a diminutive of “ballo,” meaning dance. These all come from Latin “ballare,” to dance.
The word for ballet is a cousin of words like “ball,” “ballad,” and “ballroom” because they all grew from the idea of dancing. What started as general dancing slowly specialized into one of the most controlled art forms in the world.
Ballet developed with highly gendered roles, costuming, and body standards, often idealizing thin, white, cisgender female dancers in specific roles and privileging male choreographers and directors. Access to training and recognition for women of color and non‑binary dancers has historically been limited by institutional and aesthetic bias.
Discuss ballet without assuming only women or only a narrow body type participate; acknowledge dancers and choreographers of varied genders and backgrounds. Avoid using 'ballet body' or similar phrases that reinforce exclusionary ideals.
Women have driven much of ballet's technical and artistic innovation as principal dancers, teachers, and choreographers, even when leadership structures and publicity under‑credited their influence.
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