Where did ballet start exactly?
Well, it started in Italy, but I'm going to jump forward from that time period of development into a time of controversy and growth, both in art and religion. We are in the 16th century in France where the power of dance has developed in popularity. Catherine de Medici brought over ballet to France from Italy when she became a part of the royal family at a very young age, when she already had a great perspective of ballet. Married at the age of 14 to Henry II, Catherine took France under her reign as queen along with her Italian traditions of dance.
After Henry's death (due to a jousting accident) Catherine became the primary ruler. The couple had 10 children together before Henry’s death, three of which were boys. Being a devout Catholic, Catherine made sure her children and new country follow the same teachings. I wouldn’t want to get into an argument with Catherine, she knew what she wanted and wouldn’t have it any other way. She’d even kill you over it.
While she held the throne the Huguenots, followers of Martin Luther, began to rise in France. Catherine was not the type of woman to tolerate this well. One of Catherine's daughters was to marry Henry of Bourbon, who was a protestant (Huguenot). Sounds like a set up maybe. I hardly believe Catherine would let one of her daughters marry someone she despised because of their religion.
With a plot in mind, Catherine decided to put on a grand ballet in "celebration" of her daughter’s marriage. She invited all the Huguenots from the Henry of Bourbon’s region to come to Paris as guests. It was 1572 and the ballet Defense du Paradis premiered at the party. Catherine's sons were even performers in this production, where they defended heaven from the opposing Huguenots. The Catholics, of course, were choreographed to win. Sounds like the guests would not have enjoyed this performance as much as they thought they would.
After a rather outrageous performance that slandered their beliefs, the Huguenots made their way to their courters for a nights rest in Paris. While in their sleep the Catholic court, ordered by Catherine de Medici, dragged them from their beds into the town's streets and murdered them. This was called St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. It was an infamous part of the French wars of religion. I remember taking European History in high school and learning about this massacre, however, I never heard the word “ballet” once to be associated with this bloody day.
Henry of Bourbon’s life was spared after swearing to Catherine he would convert to Catholicism. Little did the Catholics know is that one-day he would have his revenge on the Catholics. Once all of Catherine’s sons die before becoming king, Henri of “Bourbon” becomes king because of his marriage. I think he might still be a bit bitter to the Catholics. A now recently converted back to Protestantism king makes the country’s decisions on religion.
Though this story isn't a positive perspective of dance in history, it still shows how important it was in shaping religious matters that developed in the Religious Wars. If you have ever taken a European history class I'm sure you have heard about this massacre, but did you know that ballet foreshadowed their fatal future? The queen of France could have come up with another form of entertainment to draw her enemies in, yet she used her beloved interest of dance to state her beliefs rather firmly.
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