Louis and Lully

This week while in France I got to witness ballets newest fad, the court ballet.  This performance had men and women dancing together and demonstrating more advanced footwork than the previous eras of ballet.  In order to show off this new type of dancing, the women wore dresses and skirts that showed off their ankles and 1"-2" heels.  The tops of their dresses were form fitting while the skirt puffed out with an emphasis on the hips.  The men wore tight pants tucked into boots with long jackets that went down to about their knees.  Both of these costumes were created so that the audience could see that intricate steps that the dancers were doing.  Many of them were wearing elaborate and tall hats that did not allow them to use their port de bras and made the dancers utilize their posture. Although they seemed a little scandalous and revealing to me, I think that they were necessary to show off all the advances that King Louis XIV and Lully made to the art of ballet. 

The dances were spectatcular sights and the costumes were extravagant, especially the headwear that King Louis XIV wore. He also introduced positions of the feet that I observed every dancer had practiced, and good thing they did because the feet and ankles were the highlight of the show because of the costumes worn.