Dance was originally shunned by the upper classes as, in short, it was deemed sinful. Now,however dance and especially ballet are sometimes viewed as elitist and only accessible by those able to pay high ticket prices. Whilst this is not always the case it is interesting to note the change in attitude to dance. Ballet, of the royal Renaissance court, was primarily entertainment performed for nobility. It eventually moved to professional theatre, and royals then took on the role of patrons and illusive audience members.
Queen Victoria was a particular ballet fan as she loved watching ballet as a young girl. It is said she attended the theatre up to three times a week and observed romantic era rivals Marie Taglioni and Fanny Essler dance with Taglioni Victoria’s favourite dancer. Victoria also drew and painted pictures of ballet dancers as a lifelong amateur artist; her ballet pictures have been preserved to this day.
Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, was also a fan. She took ballet lessons as a child and dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but ultimately dedicated her herself to acting. Monaco’s Monte Carlo Ballet School was renamed the Princess Grace Academy of Classical Dance in her honour, as the princess had hoped to develop a small dance company from the school, that would tour Europe and the United States.
Queen Margrethe II, the reigning queen of Denmark (and great-great granddaughter of England’s Queen Victoria), is over 70 years old and has been taking weekly ballet classes for over 30 years. The queen also designs costumes and sets for ballet productions in her country, having begun over twenty years ago. In the last two years, the Queen's designs have been featured in productions of The Nutcracker and The Steadfast Tin Soldier at Tivoli Gardens in Denmark for the country's Royal Ballet company.
The dance of the Royals
Dance was originally shunned by the upper classes as, in short, it was deemed sinful. Now,however dance and especially ballet are sometimes viewed as elitist and only accessible by those able to pay high ticket prices. Whilst this is not always the case it is interesting to note the change in attitude to dance. Ballet, of the royal Renaissance court, was primarily entertainment performed for nobility. It eventually moved to professional theatre, and royals then took on the role of patrons and illusive audience members.
Queen Victoria was a particular ballet fan as she loved watching ballet as a young girl. It is said she attended the theatre up to three times a week and observed romantic era rivals Marie Taglioni and Fanny Essler dance with Taglioni Victoria’s favourite dancer. Victoria also drew and painted pictures of ballet dancers as a lifelong amateur artist; her ballet pictures have been preserved to this day.
Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, was also a fan. She took ballet lessons as a child and dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but ultimately dedicated her herself to acting. Monaco’s Monte Carlo Ballet School was renamed the Princess Grace Academy of Classical Dance in her honour, as the princess had hoped to develop a small dance company from the school, that would tour Europe and the United States.
Queen Margrethe II, the reigning queen of Denmark (and great-great granddaughter of England’s Queen Victoria), is over 70 years old and has been taking weekly ballet classes for over 30 years. The queen also designs costumes and sets for ballet productions in her country, having begun over twenty years ago. In the last two years, the Queen's designs have been featured in productions of The Nutcracker and The Steadfast Tin Soldier at Tivoli Gardens in Denmark for the country's Royal Ballet company.