Carlo Blasis
Carlo Blasis (1797–1878) was an Italian ballet dancer, choreographer, and teacher whose books systematized classical ballet technique and training.
Classical ballet: A theatrical dance tradition built around formalized technique, turnout, pointe work, and codified steps. Blasis’s manuals helped define the technique and vocabulary of this broader dance tradition.
Traité élémentaire, théorique et pratique de l'art de la danse: Blasis’s 1820 treatise on dance, which set out principles of ballet technique and instruction. This early book presents his systematic account of dance technique.
Italian ballet: The ballet tradition developed in Italy, known for influential performers, teachers, and technical methods. Blasis emerged from this tradition and helped spread its technique through teaching and writing.
Ballet pedagogy: The methods and principles used to teach ballet technique and artistic performance. Blasis helped establish a systematic model for training dancers.
Ballet position: A standardized placement of the feet, arms, or body used in ballet technique. His teaching organized movement around precise, repeatable positions.
The Code of Terpsichore: Blasis’s 1828 manual on dance theory, practice, and the art of ballet performance. It is his best-known guide to ballet’s technical and expressive principles.
La Scala Theatre Ballet: The ballet company associated with Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, a major institution in Italian ballet. Blasis directed the company’s school and helped shape its training.
Agrippina Vaganova: A Russian ballet teacher who developed an influential method of classical ballet training. Her later system belongs to the history of codified ballet instruction that Blasis helped advance.
Turnout: The outward rotation of the legs from the hips, fundamental to classical ballet technique. Blasis treated controlled turnout as a basis for classical alignment and movement.
Ballet technique: The codified physical practices used to perform ballet, including alignment, turnout, steps, and coordination. Blasis’s writings helped turn this body of practice into a systematic curriculum.